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Manchester United cruised to a 3-0 victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday with an impressive performance.
Just two days before the 66th anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster, this match has an added significance for United, who would be hoping to make the Old Trafford crowd proud. In the early phases of the match, the home side’s intent certainly seemed to be present, as they dominated the ball with 72% possession within the first five minutes of play.
Still, United did little with the possession they had, rarely entering West Ham’s final third.
10 minutes in, however, the visitors almost got an early lead from a corner when Onana made a save on the goal line to deny a Tomas Soucek header.
In the 14th minute, United had their first genuine chance of the match when a corner was cleared out to Bruno Fernandes.
The United skipper sent in a soaring shot from outside the box that forced a full-stretch save from Alphonse Areola to hand United another corner. Diogo Dalot then got off a sneaky shot that the Hammers’ keeper was able to catch.
While Soucek got on the end of another dangerous cross, his shot from distance was blocked by Harry Maguire, who’s starting his first Premier League match since returning from a groin injury.
United were unable to clear the ball out of danger, with Maguire giving away a foul just outside the box to hand James Ward-Prowse a threatening free kick. Fortunately, United fans were able to breathe a collective sigh of relief as the free kick hit the top of the wall.
23 minutes in, Rasmus Hojlund produced a moment of magic to send United into the lead. Celebrating his 21st birthday, the United frontman picked up a loose ball on the edge of the box, thumping a thunderous shot into the bottom left corner that immediately bounced out the net due to the shot’s velocity. A memorable 21st birthday present for the Dane and a moment to remember for the Old Trafford crowd on this significant day.
Following the restart, the visitors were able to get a sneaky opportunity to score as Ben Johnson took a shot from 30 yards out. Still, Onana was able to avoid getting caught off guard, making a strong save to deny the Hammers an equaliser.
30 minutes in, the visitors were at it again when Jarrod Bowen sent a cross into Mohammed Kudus, whose header was caught by Onana.
Six minutes later, Soucek received a yellow card when he took down Marcus Rashford from behind. It was another promising counter-attacking move from United, who appear to be brimming with confidence so far in this match.
With one minute added on for stoppage time, Hojlund came close to doubling his tally as he raced into the box on the left to collect an Alejandro Garnacho through ball. Hojlund’s shot went astray, with the referee blowing the whistle for half-time seconds later.
Although United have the lead, the visitors had their fair share of promising goalscoring opportunities, exhibiting their ability up front. United would need to remain on high alert throughout the second half in order to come away with the three points.
Three minutes after the restart, Maguire made a crucial mistake by allowing Emerson to dribble past him into the box to go one-on-one with Onana. Maguire could breathe a sigh of relief once the West Ham full-back ballooned his shot over the top.
Moments later, Garnacho received a ball on the edge of the box, shifting it to his left foot and firing a venomous shot into the far corner to double United’s lead. Despite having fewer shots, United’s frontline had proven to be far more clinical than the visitors.
In the 50th minute, United came close to a third when Rashford cut into West Ham’s final third from the left. Despite being one of his favoured moves, the winger was unable to make his shot count, blasting it past the right post.
Dalot threatened the West Ham defence soon after, with his blistering run into the box being cut out and cleared for a corner. While the short corner was passed to Dalot again, he thumped his shot over the top.
Determined to get back into the match, the visitors pushed forward and sent the ball to Emerson yet again. This time his shot was on target, however, Onana was able to catch the effort.
United were soon on the attack again, however, Rashford appeared to be off form. Upon receiving a pass right in front of the goalmouth, he skied his effort. Soon after, Garnacho played an effective through ball his way, only for Rashford to lose his footing and allow the ball to be easily disposed of.
In the 64th minute, teenager Kobbie Mainoo came off following another promising performance, for Scott McTominay, who remains United’s leading scorer in the Premier League.
Moments later, Lisandro Martinez hit the deck after challenging for the ball, causing panic among the Old Trafford crowd. The Argentine spent a few moments clutching at his knee before rising to his feet and being escorted to the sidelines by United’s medical staff. Fortunately, he was able to return to the action.
With 22 minutes left on the clock, Bowen appeared to be on goal when Dalot came sliding out of nowhere to deny West Ham from scoring. Unfortunately, the jubilation lasted briefly as Martinez collapsed once again after a nasty challenge from Coufal.
Unwilling to take any risks, Erik ten Hag brought on Raphael Varane in Martinez’s stead.
In the 82nd minute, Maguire sent a header to Fernandes, whose close-range effort was deflected out for a corner. Yet again, Fernandes delivered a corner that came up short and was easily disposed of by the West Ham defence.
Still, United wouldn’t have to worry about their missed opportunity for long, however, as McTominay put a through ball to Garnacho on the right who slotted his grounded shot past the Hammers keeper to hand United a third goal on what had been a rare comfortable afternoon for the club.
With four minutes to play, birthday boy Hojlund was taken off to a round of applause following an impressive performance. He was replaced by Antony.
Two minutes into six minutes of added time, McTominay looked keen to get on the scoresheet, however, his close-range strike was well saved by Lukas Fabianski.
Overall, it was a fine performance by United, who exhibited composure both on the attack and in defence to seal a comfortable victory to leapfrog their opponents on the Premier League table.
Starting XI: Onana, Maguire, Martinez, Fernandes, Rashford, Hojlund, Garnacho, Casemiro, Dalot, Shaw, Mainoo
Subs: McTominay, Varane, Antony
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