Marcus Rashford scored the only goal of the match to send Manchester United into the Premier League top four following their 1-0 win over Brentford at Old Trafford on Wednesday evening.

The Red Devils are now three points ahead of Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand as they continue to bid for a Champions League spot next season.

United had dropped to fifth following a losing streak of three league games and cup commitments that prevented them from registering a Premier League victory since mid-February.

Erik ten Hag’s squad had a score to settle with the Bees after suffering a humiliating 4-0 defeat in August.

The Dutch coach’s stinging criticism of his players’ attitude and desire in Sunday’s 2-0 loss to Newcastle elicited the response he desired.

“Hopefully we can build on that and get back to where we were a couple of weeks ago,” said Rashford. “Everyone’s clear on the fact that we’re not going to play our best football every week, but we have to maintain our standards.”

Rashford started in the middle after Ten Hag’s patience with Wout Weghorst finally ran out, and that decision paid off when the England international scored his 28th goal of the season by side-footing home Marcel Sabitzer’s knockdown.

Brentford moved up to ninth place in the Premier League standings after losing just one of their previous 16 games.

Ivan Toney’s charge down David de Gea’s clearance nearly resulted in an equaliser for Thomas Frank’s side, but the ball sailed inches wide. Thomas Frank’s squad had barely posed an offensive threat in the first half.

De Gea made amends when he extended himself to block Kevin Schade’s only other clear shot on goal for Brentford.

“We want to play as a machine and not make mistakes,” said Ten Hag. “We made one mistake and thankfully they didn’t benefit from it. This is a massive win”

Photo by EPA/Adam Vaughan