Manchester United needed an own goal from Craig Dawson to beat West Ham and get a better grip on a place in the Champions League
Dawson, on loan from Watford, did superb with the Hammers vying for a top four spot but closed the competition the wrong way early in the second half when he took the corner from Bruno Fernandes turned print of Scott McTominay into his own network at the near post
Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood also just missed in a one-sided competition, as West Ham only threatened to introduce Said Benrahma after an hour
As the visitors finally pushed forward, Luke Shaw disturbed Tomas Soucek’s shot on goal as United under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer conceded their fourth clean sheet for the fourth time in a row
The result kept United in second place, but with the fourth through seventh teams failing to win this weekend, they now have a nine point lead over West Ham, who is still fifth but one match in the hand has
Solskjaer will be relieved to take the win after conceding an added-time equalizer against Everton and AC Milan at Old Trafford in recent weeks
It wasn’t the best performance, and United’s frustrations in the first half were summed up when skipper Harry Maguire directed his teammates to “revive” and “stop giving the ball away”
With David Moyes pitching his side with full-backs and three midfielders, West Ham provided a puzzle that United found hard to solve
Aside from Rashford looking a header wide and Greenwood attempting to steer Lukasz Fabianski onto a post and corner, United’s pass lacked both accuracy and crispness to get visitors out of their safety structure
While Rashford kept pulling and Fernandes tended to fall deep, neither McTominay nor Fred ran into the penalty area that could have allowed them to threaten the visitors’ goal
United were better after the break, and Fabianski scored another excellent low save to deny Fernandes before Greenwood hit a post with a powerful shot at the end of a shot into the box
The result means that Moyes remains as away manager at Old Trafford without a win This sequence now extends to 11 losses in 15 attempts in all competitions
It has been 17 games since West Ham last beat Manchester United away, on the way back to the famous Carlos Tevez winner who kept the Hammers going in 2007
The win marks the first time since Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013/14 that United doubled Londoners
West Ham never really seemed to be able to win the game. Pablo Fornals’ absence due to injury cost them an element of creativity that they first introduced at Benrahma, while Maguire and Victor Lindelof assured on the rare occasions were that West Ham had an opportunity to cause air problems
Manchester United’s next match is on Thursday 18th Then they visit Leicester for the sixth round of the FA Cup on Sunday 21 March (20:00 GMT) in the second leg of the eighth finals of the Europa League against AC Milan in San Siro March (5:00 p.m.)
West Ham’s next game is a Premier League derby against Arsenal at the London Stadium, also on Jan. March (3:00 p.m.)
Attempt missed Manuel Lanzini (West Ham United) right footed shot from the left side of the box is high and wide to the left
Attempt blocked Tomas Soucek (West Ham United) right footed shot from the center of the box is blocked. Assisted by Manuel Lanzini
Mason Greenwood (Manchester United) hits the left post with a left footed shot from the left side of the box Assisted by Marcus Rashford after a quick break
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Man United v West Ham
World News – GB – The own goal helps Man Utd get past Hammers
Source: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/56247548