David De Gea gifted West Ham a goal as they produced one of the narrow football scores of the weekend in the Premier League. The custodian should have been able to easily save Said Benrahma’s soft long-range attempt in the first half, but despite getting a hand to it, he failed to stop it from bobbling across the line. Although Manchester United appeared to be in control of the game before De Gea’s error, they could have lost by a larger margin as the hosts dominated much of the second half and took a significant step towards Premier League survival. Manchester United was defeated 1-0 by Brighton on their previous outing and is only one point ahead of fifth-place Liverpool.
Victor Lindelof’s handball was overlooked by on-pitch referee Peter Bankes, and VAR Stuart Attwell elected not to step in, denying David Moyes’ team what appeared to be a simple penalty on the verge of halftime. Erik ten Hag’s team was kept in the game thanks to the decision, but West Ham survived late pressure to earn a well-deserved victory—Moyes’ first over Manchester United since taking over the club. The Hammers’ position in 15th is eased as they rise to 37 points as a consequence of the result. While Manchester United still has a game in hand on Liverpool, they are currently in fourth position and the top-four competition is now open as a result of their poor play.
Bruno Fernandes and Antony both missed Lukasz Fabianski’s right-hand post with their shots as Manchester United had a promising start to the contest. When given another opportunity to meet Antony’s pull-back, Christian Eriksen blew it by shooting over the crossbar, and Marcus Rashford missed the outside of the post with another angled effort. De Gea, a Spaniard, buried his head in the ground after allowing Benrahma’s soft drive to seep into the net after Luke Shaw lost possession of the ball, giving West Ham their first goal. West Ham only occasionally threatened in the early going.
It was the under-fire goalkeeper’s fourth mistake that resulted in an opponent scoring in all competitions this season, which tied him with Tottenham’s Hugo Lloris for the most of any Premier League player. Man United attempted to respond quickly, but Antony’s deflected long-range shot missed the target. They were also fortunate not to give up a penalty shortly before halftime when Victor Lindelof’s handball went mysteriously unpunished. However, West Ham maintained their lead by holding Manchester United at bay and forging a string of opportunities in the second half.
Declan Rice, who was excellent upon his return from illness, was at the center of most of it, and David De Gea, who continues to appear uneasy in the Manchester United goal, was fortunate that Michail Antonio was found to have fouled him prior to pushing the ball over the goal line after a corner. Tomas Soucek also had the ball in the net, but his header was rightfully disallowed for being offside. As they continued to press for a second goal, the Czech midfielder also had one effort hit the side netting, while Lucas Paqueta had another one go just wide.
The hosts defended staunchly, and West Ham’s custodian Fabianski made several excellent saves from Marcus Rashford and replacement Anthony Martial as Manchester United did exhibit some improvement in the closing moments. The London Stadium was partying as the home team exited the ground, but Manchester United’s defeated players limped off knowing that the top-four race was far from finished.
“[Towards safety] a significant step. It’s a big step to defeat Manchester United in a run-in. Against anybody we play, getting three points is crucial, but against Manchester, United is huge for us,” West Ham boss David Moyes said. “Given how well we did, it was probably well deserved. The athletes displayed excellent character and spirit. We occasionally had to dig deep, but we also had fantastic moments and looked much more like the West Ham of recent years. It’s a fantastic result moving into the semifinals of a European tournament, and we will take heart from the fact that we knew we were up against it playing against a team as talented as Manchester United.”
“He should extend his contract because we want him to stay. In the Premier League, he has the most clean sheets. Without him, we wouldn’t be in this situation. He has my trust. No worries,” Manchester United boss Erik Ten Hag said. “That occurs, but in my opinion, you have to deal with it as a team. You have to have character, be resilient, and recover from setbacks. We had a good start, I believe. The game was determined by us. We made opportunities. We didn’t take them, though. Finally, a mistake. But even then, I thought we played a respectable game up until halfway.”
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