Late Dramatic Win For United
It was a dramatic and breathless night for Manchester United fans; night for those of us living in Asia. The Olympic Stadium in London has witnessed some bad days for United, the best memory I have of United playing against West Ham in that stadium is the 2–0 win in Jose Mourinho’s first season at United, 2016–17.
United Dominance
I felt United dominated the game which is not something we can say often of our matches played there. Even in the 3–1 win last season, it was exaggerated as West Ham was on top in the game but we had a period of 10–15 minutes where we were clinical. United had a lot of possession but space was a premium as West Ham sat back in numbers and made it tough for us to penetrate. However, unlike other matches where we have faced a low block, I felt United navigated it well with some good off-the-ball movement and runs to the byline. We created a lot of chances but Kurt Zouma and Angelo Ogbonna were immense in West Ham’s backline. Behind them, Lukasz Fabianski pulled off some great saves to keep us out.
West Ham’s Period Of Dominance
West Ham’s greatest threat came on the counter-attack and there was a period in the first half where they were on top and were rewarded with a slice of good fortune. Said Benrahma’s shot took a big deflection off Raphael Varane and it left David De Gea flat-footed. Largely, we defended well but there were some sloppy moments mainly from captain Harry Maguire especially when he was in possession.
Deserved Equaliser & Winner
We got a deserved equaliser when Cristiano Ronaldo gobbled up a mistake from Fabianski. Ronaldo had three shouts for a penalty that were all denied — I wouldn’t say they were all nailed on penalties. At least in one instance, the decision not to award was right and we should have at least got one penalty but thankfully, it didn’t come back to haunt us. After the week he had and the impact he had at West Ham last season while on loan, it was Hollywood-esque for Jesse Lingard to score the winner with a great shot into the top corner with a minute left in the game. These were the kind of goals he used to score when he first broke through under Louis Van Gaal and would do his confidence a world of good.
Solksjaer Escapes Criticism
I felt Lingard’s goal saved Solksjaer from getting criticised for his substitutions and the timing of it. Lingard and Jadon Sancho came on with 20 minutes left but I felt at least a change should have been made 10 minutes before as there were players that were looking tired. The final change of bringing on Nemanja Matic instead of an attacker or attack-minded central midfielder while we were chasing a win is the one that would have got him criticised had we drawn or lost. After Lingard, it was the turn of David De Gea to save his manager’s blushes. His penalty-saving record or lack of has been well documented after our defeat in the Europa League final. It couldn’t come at a better time for him to finally save a penalty and bring home three deserved points and save his manager from getting criticised.
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