More home discomfort as bogey team strikes again
It was further misery at home as the reds dropped more points to West Ham. Having gone in front in the second-half, they were unable to hold on for the win that could have put them fifth. It is now just one win in five games to further raise the scrutiny on Amorim.
It was an excellent result for the visitors who have improved under their new manager. Soungoutou Magassa’s first goal for the club brought them just their second point on the road since August. They remain in the relegation zone but closed the gap on sides above them. It also maintained their good recent form against Utd.
Ruben Amorim made three changes from the side who beat Crystal Palace on Sunday. Mattheus Cunha returned from after a recent head injury whilst Ayden Heaven made his first start of the season. Noussair Mazraoui also came back in. Mason Mount and Leny Yoro dropped to the bench while Matthijs de Ligt missed out completely due to injury. Nuno Espirito Santo made just one change. Lucas Paqueta was suspended after his sending off in the defeat to Liverpool. Tomas Soucek came back into the midfield.
Ayden Heaven was perhaps the surprise inclusion and he had a shaky beginning to the game. He was booked for a late challenge and then miscontrolled a back-pass that Senne Lammens was able to intercept. Another having a poor start to the game was referee Andrew Kitchen. He missed a late challenge by Freddie Potts on Bruno Fernandes that resulted in a West Ham corner. It woud have been contentious if they had scored from it.
Despite the slow start to the game, it was the home side who almost scored on 24 minutes. Fernandes controlled a long ball before forcing Todibo into conceding a corner. Bryan Mbeumo curled an effort from the edge of the area that forced Alphonse Areola into tipping it over the bar.
A few minutes later a trio of chances came and went for the home side. Amad Diallo skipped past El Hadij Diouf before putting in a cross to Joshua Zirkzee who’s header was cleared off the line by former red Aaron Wan-Bissaka. Mattheus tried an overhead kick that was blocked before a shot by Fernandes shaved the post.
They kept the pressure up and Wan-Bissaka was again forced into a late challenge to prevent a likely goal. The former red full-back stopped the charge of Casemiro on this occasion as they attempted to land a goal before the break. Despite a few late flurries from both sides, it remained scoreless.
The home side kept up the pressure into the second half and were rewarded on 58 minutes. Diallo who had been Utd’s main source of danger worked the ball inside from the right towards Casemiro. He hit an effort that skewed sideways but fell right into the path of Diogo Dalot. The full back swiveled and shot into the bottom left corner for the lead.
The visitors struggled to respond but had a chance on 70 minutes. Jarrod Bowen cut the ball back for Potts. His effort from inside the area was deflected wide by Casemiro. At the other end, Cunha had a shot blocked wide by Kostantinos Mavropanus.
Then with less than ten minutes left, the Hammers equalised. Noussair Mazraoui produced an excellent clearance to prevent a chance for Diouf. From the resulting corner, Bowen flicked his header towards the bottom corner before Mazraoui again cleared it off the line. Soungoutou Magassa reacted quicker than two Utd defenders to stab the rebound home.
Wan Bissaka escaped a second booking for a late challenge on Patrick Dorgu as the home side pushed for a winner. The best chance fell to Fernandes in injury time. Casemiro had a cross shot punched away by Areola. It arrived to the reds captain who was unable to keep down his effort.
There was notable boos upon the final whistle as the frustrated fans saw another chance to progress slip away. They must hope to respond on Monday when they travel away to bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers. West Ham will be looking to pick up more points when they take on Brighton.
Manchester United: Senne Lammens, Diogo Dalot (Patrick Dorgu 68), Ayden Heaven (Leny Yoro 46), Luke Shaw (Lisandro Martinez 88), Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo, Bryan Mbeumo, Mattheus Cunha (Manuel Ugarte 77), Joshua Zirkzee (Mason Mount 78).
Subs not used: Altay Bayinder, Tyrell Malacia, Kobee Mainoo, Shea Lacey.
Booked: Ayden Heaven (8), Luke Shaw (85)
Sent off: None
West Ham United: Alphonse Areola, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Konstantinos Mavropanos, Jean-Clair Todibo, El Hadji Diouf, Soungoutou Magassa, Freddie Potts, Jarrod Bowen, Tomas Soucek, Mateus Fernandes, Callum Wilson.
Subs not used: Mads Hermansen, Kyle-Walker Peters, Max Kilman, Guido Rodriguez, Andrew Irving, George Earthy, Callum Marshall, Ezra Mayers, Mohamadou Kante.
Booked: El Hadji Diouf (37), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (78)
Sent off: None
Referee: Andrew Kitchen
Attendance: 73,938
Simply Red Man of the Match: Amad Diallo
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