What Mike Dean said about the Matthijs de Ligt incident as fans noticed the Man United star’s furious reaction

Alejandro Garnacho was the star of the show as he scored his fifth goal of the season before Rasmus Hojlund put Manchester United into the lead with a calm, chippy finish.

However, the pressure on Erik ten Hag increased in the first half when his side lost to Ethan Pinnock’s opener.

The Brentford centre-back headed home the visitors from a corner, but only after Matthijs de Ligt was forced to sit out for a second time to clean up the blood from a head injury.

Matthijs de Ligt furious on the Old Trafford touchline

De Ligt suffered the injury after leaning over to try and head the ball, but it hit Kevin Schade’s knee.

He cut off his head and De Ligt earned the fans’ respect by continuing to fight despite the injury. He was forced to sit out on several occasions to wipe blood from his face, including in the final minutes of the first half.

Brentford had just been awarded a corner but De Ligt was instructed by referee Sam Barrott to go to the touchline for treatment.

With United down to 10 players – and without one of their tallest defenders – Brentford took advantage and scored the first goal.

As quoted by The Mirror, Ten Hag admitted after the game that his team was “angry” with the decision: “We were very angry at half-time because we were controlling the game. I can’t understand why Matthijs was sent off. It was dried blood, so he has already been treated for the injury.”

Fans noticed De Ligt’s furious reaction after he was forced to watch Brentford’s goal from the sidelines.

Mike Dean reacts to the Matthijs de Ligt incident

Fortunately, United managed to come from behind to secure all three points, but the decision to send De Ligt out could easily have had major implications had Brentford won.

Former Premier League referee Mike Dean was quickly asked for his opinion on the incident.

Via Sky Sports (3.53pm, Saturday 19 October), Dean said: “There is no fault on the part of the referees. When he is bleeding, he cannot remain on the field.

“He did his best to wipe the blood off his shirt because the shirt was red and he thought he was going to get away with it. It was all written all over his face.

READ MORE: Man Utd ratings against Brentford, Alejandro Garnacho and Rasmus Hojlund world class, but another star gets 8/10

“The referee had no choice but to send him away for treatment and, lo and behold, they go and score. You can’t blame the referee, you blame the medical team for not stopping the bleeding.”

It was an extremely frustrating decision, but you have to ask the medical team why De Ligt had to make several trips backstage to stop the bleeding. If the issue had been resolved soon after the incident, United could have conceded another clean sheet.

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