Manchester United desperately needs a victory against West Ham to continue to hope for a ticket to the Champions League next season.
Man United just won a hard-fought 4-3 victory over Wolves at Molineux. The defense still showed many mistakes and it was only thanks to Kobbie Mainoo’s goal in the 90+7 minute that the home team at Old Trafford got all 3 points.
The Red Devils are currently unbeaten in 4 matches in all competitions, but have only won 1 of the last 4 matches at Old Trafford. Welcoming West Ham at the Theater of Dreams, coach Erik ten Hag and his team are clearly expected to face many difficulties.
Coach Ten Hag did not have many changes in the starting lineup compared to the win against Wolves. The only change is that Harry Maguire replaces Raphael Varane.
As expected, West Ham really caused many difficulties for Man Utd. Goalkeeper Andre Onana often has to show off his saving grace. In the first half alone, “Sledgehammer” launched 13 shots compared to only 4 for Man Utd.
However, the accuracy of the away team’s finishing shots was not high. They only had 2 shots on target, while Man Utd had 3. In such a match, Rasmus Hojlund shined at the right time.
In the 23rd minute, as soon as he got the ball in the middle area from Casemiro’s contested rush, Hojlund faked a move with his left foot to eliminate two West Ham players, before finishing with his classy right foot from outside the penalty area. , opened the score for Man Utd.
This is Hojlund’s fourth goal in the Premier League, reaching the mark of 10 goals in all competitions. In three consecutive Premier League matches, the Danish striker opened fire. It feels like he’s starting to “heat up”.
Back to the match, in the last minutes of the first half, West Ham pressed the field continuously in search of an equalizer. Goalkeeper Onana really struggled to protect the net. However, Man Utd’s defense still stood firm.
After the break, West Ham was the team with the first chance. Accordingly, Maguire handled slowly, allowing the West Ham player to steal the ball right in his own half. Fortunately, Emerson Palmieri’s shot went over the bar. If he calmly passed to his teammates inside, perhaps West Ham would have scored.
Almost immediately, West Ham received an injury blow. With the ball in the penalty area, Alejandro Garnacho’s shot was not too dangerous. However, his kick hit the West Ham defender and went straight into the net, thereby giving Man Utd their second goal in the match.
Man Utd played leisurely, proactively ceded possession of the ball to West Ham and took advantage of opportunities to counterattack.
In such a match, from a ball possession in the middle of the field, Scott McTomiany passed to Garancho in an unmarked position in the penalty area. The young Argentinian talent easily scored a double, setting the score to 3-0 for Man Utd.
Winning 3 points in this match, the Red Devils surpassed West Ham to climb to 6th place on the Premier League rankings. They are still 8 points away from Aston Villa’s top 4.