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Manchester United produced another surprising second-half comeback to condemn West Ham to a 3-1 loss on the day they welcomed fans to the London stadium.
The Hammers opened their doors to 2,000 fans for the first time since February 29, and they were expecting a memorable victory when Tomas Soucek’s goal in the first half gave them the lead against bland Manchester United.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer marked the changes at half-time and his substitutes transformed the game, with Bruno Fernandes setting up Paul Pogba’s magnificent draw before the Portuguese took part in Mason Greenwood’s clinical goal.
Turning the game around in three minutes of the second half, Marcus Rashford sealed the victory by lifting the ball over Lukasz Fabianski after teammate Juan Mata played with the goal.
The victory extends the Manchester United club’s record winning streak to nine games and places them in the top four, while West Ham falls to seventh after missing a chance to go third.
How Manchester United crashed West Ham’s homecoming …
West Ham fans show their support before the game
Two thousand West Ham fans gave a moving rendition of ‘I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles’ on their long-awaited return to London Stadium, and they almost had an early goal to celebrate.
The vivacious Jarrod Bowen ran behind the Manchester United defense and fired a shot past Dean Henderson’s outstretched leg in his full Premier League debut for the visitors, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
West Ham was sharper in all respects, as it put down the Manchester United threat and peppered the away goal in search of the breakthrough, which almost came after half an hour.
Pablo Fornals headed a glorious opportunity at the side net and, three minutes later, he was denied by the goal frame as his toe hit off the wood and fell into Henderson’s hands.
West Ham’s pressure finally manifested itself in the 38th minute, when a corner kick from the near post by Declan Rice prepared Soucek to bring the first goal home from close range, as the Hammers punished Manchester United’s nonexistent defense. .
Tomas Soucek celebrates after overtaking West Ham
West Ham should have added a second of rapid fire, but, after circling Henderson, Sebastien Haller lost his balance at the crucial moment, allowing the Manchester United goalkeeper to put down the ball.
Anthony Martial brought Fabianski to a good fingertip save with Manchester United’s first significant attempt at West Ham’s goal, but the Hammers were worth their halftime lead, which could have been greater if Haller had turned an opportunity into injury time.
Solskjaer brought in Fernandes and Rashford at halftime and Manchester United’s improvement was instantaneous and drastic, but it could have been two fewer if Bowen had stretched enough to convert Vladimir Coufal’s center.
Paul Pogba celebrates with Alex Telles after equalizing for Manchester United
Scott McTominay took a shot to the side net and the build momentum counted in 65 minutes. Henderson’s punt was deemed to have remained in play down the right touchline and Fernandes rolled the ball into Pogba’s path, who fired an exquisite shot into the top corner to level the score.
One quickly became two, with Greenwood finishing off an Alex Telles cross from the left before taking Manchester United to the lead with a clinical shot through Fabianski.
Mason Greenwood celebrates after scoring Manchester United’s second goal at West Ham
Woodworking prevented Rashford from putting the game to bed in the 72nd minute, as Manchester United continued to exploit large loopholes in West Ham’s defense, but made no mistake six minutes later, floating the ball over Fabianski after holding on to the pass. Mata’s perfectly weighted. ball as Solskjaer’s team drew an emphatic line under a chaotic first half.
Opta Statistics – Subs inspire Man Utd
- All three Manchester United substitutes were directly involved in a goal against West Ham (Rashford, Fernandes and Mata), which is only the second time this has happened for the Red Devils in a Premier League match, previously in August 2017 against Leicester (Rashford, Lingard and Fellaini).
- Manchester United have won their first five away games in a league campaign for the first time since 1985-86.
- This was the fourth time West Ham have faced Manchester United in a Premier League match being above them in the table, however they have failed to win any of these matches (D1 L3).
- Following their victory tonight, Manchester United have gained more points by losing positions than any other team in Premier League history (385).
- Manchester United are only the second team in Premier League history to score more than 2 goals in nine consecutive away games, after Leeds United in April 2001.
- Since his debut in February, Bruno Fernandes has directly participated in 36 goals in 38 matches in all competitions for Manchester United (22 goals, 14 assists), five more than any other Premier League player in this period.
What the managers said …
West Ham boss David moyes: “I thought we played very well tonight. The only reason we stretched was a bad call. The ball went over my head on the touchline, there was no one in a better position to see it than me.”
“The linesman says he didn’t see it. It was a bad decision. The ball was out of play, the reaction of the players is the best way to see it and all of our players knew it was out of play as well.” [After that] we turn off. It really gave us a bad feeling for that disappointment.
“I am pleased that the fans saw a performance that was very good, certainly for 60 minutes. Just disappointed that we could not give them a result. I think we are really shocked by the disappointment of the decision that the linesman made.”
Man Utd Manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer: “In the first half we had a hard time keeping up with their counterattacks and set pieces. We had a too slow pace so we gave the ball away too often.
“It was a poor first half. We played against a good team that makes it difficult for you. They are very compact and good at pushing. Of course, the first goal changed the mood, and it was an incredible goal. The three goals were absolutely exceptional.
I am very satisfied with the performance. I am very happy with our visitor form. We do better with games like this. Faith is something very important, they have achieved it thanks to the results and the actions they are having. “
Man of the match – Marcus Rashford
Whats Next?
Friday, December 11 7:30 p.m.
Start 8:00 pm
West Ham travels to Leeds on Friday night football at 8 pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.
Saturday, December 12 5:00 pm
Start 5:30 pm
Manchester United will travel to RB Leipzig for a crucial Champions League group stage clash on Tuesday at 8pm, before hosting Manchester City on Saturday night football at 5.30 pm – live on Sky Sports Premier League.
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