Rays of hope amid Bees sting (if you look hard...)

NEWCASTLE

- By LEE RYDER Chief Newcastle writer

United had to take advantage of a rare home outing as they looked to close the gap in the race for European places. They didn’t.A 3-2 home defeat to Brentford was perhaps a new low point in a season that has seen one step forward accompanied too often by two steps back. United have had a tough run - they literally do not come much harder than PSG, Liverpool and Man City away. But the batteries seemed to have run out against the Bees.

Despite taking the lead, they were opened up by the visitors too many times, while offering very little threat at the other end. There were some positives, but not enough on a night when the fans made no secret of what they thought of the performance. Here are five things we learned.

Transfer gamble already exposed

How much longer before Tino Livramento is fit? That's the question every Newcastle fan was asking after another worrying defensive performance, particularly down United’s right flank.

It's harsh to call out Kieran Trippier, especially after everything he has done for the club, but even he might not have expected to be playing so many games at this stage.