West Ham 1, Manchester United 3
Manchester United came from a goal down in an away game in the Premier League for the fifth consecutive time as they beat West Ham at the London Stadium.
Embed from Getty ImagesDown at the London Stadium 2000 fans were allowed in for the first tie since March – 271 days ago – to witness a the proverbial game of two halves.
Goals by Paul Pogba, Mason Greenwood, and Marcus Rashford overhauled a first half strike by Tomas Soucek after United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made crucial match winning subs to win the game.
Solskjaer praised his team for reacting to his substitutions with a match winning second half at the London Stadium, saying:
“We had loads of the possession in the first half but we didn’t go anywhere with the ball.
“We stretched them more in the second half, created more space for each other, and the goals were exceptional.”
Ex-United manager David Moyes bemoaned the Reds’ equaliser, claiming Henderson’s clearance in the build-up to Pogba’s goal had gone out of play – he may have had a point – but he was let down by his own team’s profligacy when they were on top.
Sebastian Haller was in to replace hamstring injury victim Michail Antonio for West Ham.
Dean Henderson and Edinson Cavani made their full Premier League bows for Manchester United while Bruno Fernandes was named on the bench for the first time for Manchester United with crucial games against RB Leipzig and Manchester City to come.
Henderson replaced the injured David De Gea while Scott McTominay, Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial, and Edinson Cavani came into the side
Fred, Nemanja Matic, Bruno Fernandes, and Marcus Rashford stepped down to the bench to join Lee Grant.
United were on the back foot early on and Jarrod Bowen had an early strike ruled out for a clear offside.
The Reds could not cope with the early intensity from the Hammers and Pablo Fornals hit the side netting.
Fornals also hit the woodwork with Henderson scooping up the rebound.
Bowen also had a shot blocked by Aaron Wan-Bissaka before the Hammers took the lead through Tomas Soucek who poached Declan Rice’s flick-on from a corner.
And the Hammers could have been 2-0 up before half time when Haller beat the offside trap and rounded Henderson but slipped as he tried to make space for the shot with defenders crowding back.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer makes the changes that beat West Ham
Martial forced a save just before half time which is when United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer decided enough was enough and made two immediate changes at the break.
Cavani and Donny van de Beek were withdrawn and Fernandes and Rashford were thrown on to try and change the match – and United did just that in style.
Bowen sent a golden chance wide early after the restart after a great cross by Vladimir Coufal but United kept improving after that let-off.
McTominay turned the ball into the side netting and tide turned completely the way of the Reds when Juan Mata replaced Martial after 62 minutes.
Mason Greenwood set up Pogba for a low shot to equalise after Henderson’s clearance went to Fernandes who channelled the ball into the danger zone in front of goal after 65 minutes – his second goal of the season.
There was controversy over whether the Henderson’s clearance had gone out of play – VAR decided there was no case to answer but may not have been equipped to make a decision on that.
Greenwood got himself on the scoresheet after 68 minutes after his first touch brought Alex Telles’ left wing cross under control before half-volleying it past Lucasz Fabianski for only his third goal of the season.
Rashford hit the upright after Fernandes had out him through not long after that before he finished off the Hammers by lifting Mata’s sumptuous through ball over Fabianski and into the empty net with 12 minutes to go – his 10th goal of the season.
Aaron Cresswell’s free kick was tipped away by Henderson late on but the result wasn’t in doubt.
Game over, and the vocal local fans had their fun for about an hour before being silenced by the Reds as they brought an end to the run of two defeats at the London Stadium in style to return to the Premier League top four.
MATCH STATS – West Ham 1, Manchester United 3
West Ham: Fabianski, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Coufal (Johnson 85), Rice, Soucek, Masuaku, Bowen (Lanzini 76), Fornals (Benrahma 75), Haller
West Ham Subs not used: Randolph, Snodgrass, Noble, Diop, Johnson
Goal: Soucek 38
Man Utd: Henderson, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Telles, McTominay, Pogba, Van de Beek (Fernandes 46), Greenwood, Cavani (Rashford 46), Martial (Mata 62)
Man Utd Subs not used: Grant, Matic, Williams, Tuanzebe
Goals: Pogba 65; Greenwood 68; Rashford 78
Referee: Andre Marriner