Erik ten Hag praises roles of Marcus Rashford, David de Gea in crucial win

The Red Devils returned to fourth position in the Premier League table courtesy of the narrow success against Thomas Frank's side, with Rashford netting the only goal of the contest.

"We played very good football, especially [in the] first half. second half was more of a battle. It is not easy against this very good Brentford team to play well. There was passion and desire and we got it over the line," Ten Hag told BBC Sport after the match.

"The first goal is so important and then the game gets easier so you need that first goal."

Rashford struck in the 27th minute of the clash against Brentford, with the Englishman scoring a half-volley off an assist from Marcel Sabitzer.

Ten Hag praised the 25-year-old's contribution, as he found the back of the net for the 15th time in the Premier League this season and 26th time in all competitions.

"Great finish. Once again he is on top and in very good form so hopefully he can keep doing it until the end of the season. Keep that focus and those energy levels and then he will score," said the Man United boss.

Brentford largely struggled to carve out chances in Wednesday's affair, but they had a standout opportunity in the second period through substitute Kevin Schade.

Having skipped past Raphael Varane, Schade broke into a one-on-one situation with De Gea, but Man United's number one was out to make a smart save.

"When you need David, he is there and when you lose focus, mistakes can happen. We want to play as a machine and don't make mistakes. We make one mistake and luckily they didn't benefit from it and also it was the performance form David de Gea," Ten Hag added.

"Of course, this is a a massive win for the Premier League, especially over Brentford. In 16 games they have only lost one. It is always difficult to play against them and to beat them but we did so I am proud of my team today. This gives us energy so we have to keep this and go to Saturday [against Everton], another big game."

Man United will be aiming to strengthen their grip on a top-four position in the table when they welcome Sean Dyche's Everton side to Old Trafford in Saturday's early start.