Brentford boss Thomas Frank has backed comments he made earlier in the season that Manchester United were ‚unbelievably lucky‘ in their 3-1 win against the Bees in January.

The west London side were made to rue their wastefulness and Frank was passionate in his belief that his men were hard done by post-game.

„Unbelievably proud of my team. We are the smallest club in the Premier League, Manchester United the biggest,“ Frank said at the time.

„We destroyed them in the first half, they didn’t have a sniff, three huge chances and there could only have been one winner of this game. They are unbelievably lucky. I know all the stuff about taking chances. They changed the system against little Brentford.“

Brentford travel to Old Trafford for the reverse fixture on Monday night and when asked if he still stands by his outburst following January’s loss, Frank maintained his stance that Man Utd were fortunate that night.

„Yeah, I think we played a fantastic first half and should easily have been up with two goals. Unfortunately, their best performing player this season, [David] De Gea, once again performed fantastically against us,“ he said.

„We couldn’t quite keep it up in the second half but I think the overall performance we can be quite satisfied. You are Brentford playing against one of the biggest clubs in the world.“

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Listen now to 90min’s brand new podcast, Talking Transfers, with Scott Saunders & Graeme Bailey. Toby Cudworth joins the show again this week to discuss how Erik ten Hag’s appointment may affect Man Utd’s pursuit of Paul Mitchell. There is also chat on the futures of Jesse Lingard & David de Gea and a look at what Newcastle are planning this summer.

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Despite Brentford’s strong performance against United the last time they met, Frank is adamant that the Red Devils have a ‚world class‘ attack that can threaten any side.

„The club is one of the biggest in world football, maybe the biggest club in world football with what they’ve created over the years. The team, I think they are obviously struggling with their ambitions, I don’t think that’s any secret, I can say that without any disrespect. They’ve had a tough season, as always it’s not good when you have to sack a manager or head coach because something is not right. I know I’m a little bit biased but sometimes it’s maybe not the manager [who is at fault],“ he said.

„In terms of their own expectations, not talking about the whole world’s expectations but their own expectations, I’m pretty sure they wanted to be higher [in the table] and expected to be higher. It’s still a team of world class players, I think on paper they’re potentially one of the best offensive [teams]. Ronaldo, Fernandes, Sancho, Rashford, I think those four are among the best in the league on their best day. It’s a huge challenge and I’m looking forward to it.“