Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United
The Red Devils will march on to the quarterfinals of the FA Cup after they eked out a 1-0 victory against West Ham United last Wednesday night.
Both teams lacked the attacking quality as correctly predicted by my fellow SBOTOP writer in his preview, as scoring chances only came few and far between in what was literally a cold evening in Old Trafford.
However, Scott McTominay delivered the knockout blow during added time and his late goal proved to be the difference for the hosts.
It was a disappointing end for West Ham United’s Cup run as they were exceeding expectations prior to this contest.
The Hammers have an European qualification within their sights as they sit at the sixth spot of the Premier League standings, which is quite unexpected.
Historically speaking, West Ham United have been dreadful against Manchester United in the competition this century, which is why they were not backed by the FA Cup 2021 odds to win at all.
Nonetheless, David Moyes should be commended for guiding his boys to a valiant effort in making it this far and now they can turn their full focus to the Premier League.
Today, let us recap last night’s set of FA Cup 2021 highlights.
Highlights of the game
In lieu of their grueling schedule, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made several changes from the team that started against Everton last Saturday.
Veteran goalkeeper David de Gea was benched in favour of Dean Henderson, while Donny van de Beek made a rare start replacing Bruno Fernandes in the attacking midfield.
Edinson Cavani was also benched in favour of Mason Greenwood, while the injured Paul Pogba was replaced by Nemanja Matic.
Meanwhile for the Hammers, David Moyes opted to start Andriy Yarmolenko to replace Michail Antonio as their main striker.
Manchester United controlled the possession from the get-go, but chances only came at a premium since they missed badly the creative flair of Bruno Fernandes.
One of those rare opportunites came during the 27th minute, as Victor Lindelof connected for a header after a corner kick but his attempt was parried away by Lukasz Fabianski.
Fast forward to the 53rd minute, Marcus Rashford got himself a great chance after a neat pass from Mason Greenwood in the right flank, but Fabianski was there to bail out the Hammers’ porous defence.
In the 82nd minute, Alex Telles floated a cross from his left side to find a cutting Anthony Martial into the penalty area. However, the Frenchman’s header glanced off wide.
Towards the end of normal time, the Hammers had their first opportunity but Craig Dawson failed to connect with a header in front of goal.
As both teams struggled to create chances in added time, the biggest moment would finally come in the 97th minute.
When Declan Rice turned the ball over, Manchester United pushed forward and Fred’s cross found its way to Marcus Rashford, who had the vision to flick the ball towards Scott McTominay to shatter the deadlock with a low shot.
Anthony Martial tried to double their lead with an attempt within 10 yards minutes later, but Fabianski was there for a routine save in what was the last touch of the game.
Key statistics
With last night’s win, the Red Devils have won their ninth straight home FA Cup fixture – taking them level with their all-time best mark in 1912.
West Ham United, on the other hand, saw their drought continue against Manchester United as they’ve been eliminated in each of their last four FA Cup ties against them.
They were shown the door by the Red Devils in the 2003, 2013, and 2016 seasons prior to last night.
Scott McTominay isn’t really known as a scorer for Manchester United since he is a defencive midfielder.
However, with his extra-time goal yesterday, he has now scored seven times in 30 appearances for this term – which is as many as he scored in 84 appearances in his first four seasons with the club.
Last night also marked the 250th appearance of Marcus Rashford for the hosts – making him the fourth-youngest Red Devil to reach the said milestone.
The 23-year-old striker trails only Norman Whiteside, George Best, and Ryan Giggs in that facet.
What’s next?
The Red Devils will have quite a busy schedule on their hands since they will have two matches in the next eight days.
First on their menu will be against West Brom on the road in the Premier League, in what will be their first meeting this season.
And then a few days later, they will fly to Turin, Italy for a mouthwatering clash against Real Sociedad in the Europa League.
Meanwhile, West Ham United will have their next two Premier League fixtures at home versus Sheffield United and Tottenham respectively.
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