West Ham 2-1 Manchester United: Five things noticed, this result is not on Erik ten Hag

Five things noticed as Manchester United fell to a 2-1 defeat against West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.

Erik ten Hag chose to reinstate Rasmus Højlund and Bruno Fernandes in the starting XI as Manchester United lined up to face West Ham away from home in the Premier League.

The tie started fast, with Alejandro Garnacho hitting the bar within a few minutes. As the game progressed, Ten Hag’s men continued to create chances, having a total of eight shots in the first 45 minutes, but no goals came of them.

Read More: Player Ratings – West Ham vs Manchester United (Premier League)

The most clear-cut chance came when Diogo Dalot rounded Łukasz Fabiański but then blasted his shot over the open goal and wide, much to the disbelief of Ruud van Nistelrooy on the sidelines.

The Hammers then made three changes during half-time, significantly shifting the tie’s momentum. Although United continued to create chances, West Ham struck first as Crysencio Summerville pounced on a ball at Onana’s back post to open the scoring.

With a little less than ten minutes to play, United finally found their scoring touch as Casemiro headed in from close range, latching on to a nod from Joshua Zirkzee after he received a wonderful ball from Amad Diallo.

However, following a lengthy VAR review with just minutes left of regulation time, West Ham were granted a penalty in rather insane circumstances, which Jarrad Bowen dispatched just as it was announced that 12 minutes of extra time were to be played.

However, despite United’s pressure, West Ham held on, and the tie ended 2-1 to the home team.

#1 – New game, same story

United’s failure to finish in the first half was the same story as that of previous games. The club either seems to be able to score goals but falls apart defensively or fails to score but remains stoic in front of the goal.

With Højlund in the side, the team certainly looked more fluid, and Fernandes was in good form, but it felt like the players continued to panic in front of the goal.

As the adage goes, if you don’t take your chances, you’ll be punished, and that’s precisely what Julen Lopetegui’s men inflicted upon the Manchester club.

#2 – Mazraoui vs Wan-Bissaka

A duel that certainly caught my eye was the one between Noussair Mazaraoui and Aaron Wan-Bissaka. The dynamic, of course, was fuelled by the former replacing the latter at the club last summer.

Mazraoui, playing as an auxiliary left-back, was very good against the West Ham man, even putting some trademark Wan-Bissaka-esque tackles on the player himself.

Mazraoui has been fantastic since he signed for United from Bayern Munich for around £12 million. He has shown his usefulness on both sides of the pitch and as a midfielder—a type of versatility that Wan-Bissaka did not have.

#3 – Dalot out of touch

Dalot did not have his best game in a United shirt. Even when you discount the open goal he missed, he looked off the pace and a little over-aggressive.

It just felt as if, to a certain extent, he was out of touch with his teammates, which was particularly evident in a moment with Amad Diallo as he ran straight past the winger’s backheel pass in the second half.

#4 – Casemiro justifies selection

When the line-ups were announced, many questioned Ten Hag’s choice to start Casemiro over Manuel Ugarte, considering the Uruguaun’s positive performance in Turkey earlier this week.

However, the 32-year-old played well alongside Eriksen. It feels as if having fewer minutes under his belt at the club has helped rejuvenate his form after a torrid end to the last campaign.

The Brazillian got United level following Summerville’s opening effort and was United’s best player on the day. It’s good to see he still has this type of performance in his repertoire.

#5 – A loss that’s not on Ten Hag

For all the pressure the Dutch manager is under, it’s hard to pin this specific result on him. Bar may be the choice not to start Amad; he made all the right decisions, but his players let him down.

West Ham’s defence has been shaky this season, and Ten Hag set his team up to exploit this, but his players could not execute the commands given.

Furthermore, the disgraceful application of VAR for Bowen’s penalty stuck the nail in the coffin of what was an unfortunate result for the Dutch boss.

---

Make sure to follow UtdDistrict on X, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok to never miss out on any of our Manchester United content. Our podcast, What the Devil?, is released every Wednesday at 6 pm (BST) on the United View YouTube channel.