West Ham United 3-1 Manchester United
Nobody thought this was going to be an easy game for Manchester United, but we didn’t expect West Ham to win it in such comfort.
Goals from Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic have lifted the Hammers to mid-table in the Premier League, three points behind the Red Devils. And if Jose Mourinho was under some pressure before the game, then we’re about to see what he’s made of now.
The Hammers came into this game on a high after three great results, and the memory of their shocking start to the campaign has eased after this tremendous performance. Meanwhile, Red Devils legend Ryan Giggs has said this Manchester United team isn’t capable of winning the Premier League, and he should know after won 13 of them!
SBOBET football is always here to provide entertainment, excitement and a few surprises; we had the whole lot here!
Highlights of the game
The Premier League 2018 news in the run-up to this game focussed on strikers.
Manchester United arrived with no Alexis Sanchez in the squad, explained by Mourinho as ‘options, it’s just options.’ And his option was to start with Anthony Martial up front with Romelu Lukaku.
For the Hammers, the return from injury of Marko Arnautovic was a major boost.
But the stunning opening to the game was provided by wide man Felipe Anderson. It was the worst possible start for the Red Devils, and the fans at the London Stadium couldn’t quite believe their eyes. Mark Noble released Pablo Zabaleta down the wing, and his low cross was turned in by Anderson for his first goal for West Ham with just five minutes on the clock.
Manchester United were shell-shocked. It took the visitors a while to find their feet, but they were almost level on 22 minutes when Ashley Young put in a superb first-time cross which Lukaku headed against the post.
But that was it for the Red Devils in the opening half. The whole game situation became double trouble for Jose, two minutes before halftime when Andriy Yarmolenko saw his shot deflected wickedly by Victor Lindelof and past the despairing David De Gea. The striker won’t have been pleased to hear the goal had been credited to the Swedish defender.
After an hour in which the only thing West Ham keeper Lukasz Fabianski had to do was watch the ball hit his post, he was finally called into action. Ashley Young, the only Red Devils player to have shown anything enterprise, crossed for Marouane Fellaini, and the big Belgian powered a header towards the bottom corner that Fabianski saved brilliantly.
We hadn’t seen anything of note from Paul Pogba, and the World Cup winner was hooked on 70 minutes to be replaced by Juan Mata. And then, almost immediately, the Red Devils were back in the game. Marcus Rashford met a corner at the near post and flicked his header past Fabianski as his defence switched off.
But the visitors were only in it for a couple of minutes. Mark Noble put Arnautovic clean through on goal as the Manchester United defence parted, and the Austrian was never going to miss.
West Ham asked the Red Devils plenty of questions, but why wasn’t Alexis Sanchez at least on the bench? It’s a mystery to me.
Key Statistics
David De Gea had a surprisingly busy afternoon against Wolves last week, but there was nothing he could do today for any of the three goals.
With possession shared and the shot count of eight to nine, this looked like a mid-table clash, which is all fine for the Hammers but pretty depressing for the Red Devils.
This was only the second time West Ham have beaten Manchester United in 20 attempts. But it was no fluke.
What’s next?
Well, that’s some question for Manchester United. This set of players just isn’t performing, but they are back to Old Trafford where the Champions League may provide some relief in a crucial home tie against Valencia. The
Spaniards have made a slow start to the La Liga season by their standards, having drawn five of the first seven games and lost to ten-man Juventus in their first European match. But they have quality in attack with the likes of
Santi Mina and Kevin Gameiro always on the hunt for goals.
With league winner Manuel Pellegrini at the helm, West Ham weren’t really in the picture of the Premier League 2018 betting markets for relegation; it’s all looking pretty good in East London.
Next, the Hammers head down to the South coast on a visit to Brighton. And with the way they are playing, that’s another game they should expect to win.
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