Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United: Five Talking Points as the Red Devils break into the top 4 | Premier League 2021-22
Manchester United toppled West Ham United 1-0 to break into the Premier League Top 4 with virtually the final kick of the game.
The Red Devils were in the ascendancy for most of the game but failed to score a single goal to show for that. It was two of Ralf Rangnick's substitutes who combined to give the home side the winning goal late into stoppage time. This was when Edinson Cavani squared the ball for Marcus Rashford to tap in.
The win takes the Reds inside the top 4 of the Premier League standings, at least until Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur play their respective games. On the other end, it was another disappointing evening for the Hammers. They have now dropped points in five of their last eight games, losing four of them.
Let's look at the five talking points from the game.
1. Manchester United guilty of lacklustre display in the final third
Manchester United were dominant right from the beginning. They had more control over possession and the players were confident in front of their home crowd. They managed to threaten West Ham a lot in the first half and at the start of the second half as well.
However, they managed to make a mess out of every move at the final step. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a solid chance to score from Bruno Fernandes' cross.
Apart from that as well, either the final pass or the finishing, something went missing for United all night. They had 18 shots on goal but just three on target and two of them were in the dying moments of the game, including the goal.
Manchester United were spared today but football of this kind will not help them cling to the Champions League spot. This is especially when Arsenal look an altogether different team and Spurs are starting to find their groove under manager Antonio Conte.
2. Declan Rice proves his mettle yet again
Declan Rice's first half by numbers vs. Man Utd:
100% long pass accuracy
100% take-on success
100% tackle success
100% duels won
33 passes attempted
32 passes completed
One pass away from perfection. 🤩 https://t.co/OxCzoYvX5o
It has been the norm this season for Declan Rice to be in a different strata to that of his team-mates or possibly any other player in midfield. It was nothing different at Old Trafford. It wouldn't be anyone's fault to watch him play and not guess his age correctly which is 23.
While the home side were crawling all over West Ham, Rice held his ground firmly and disrupted Manchester United's game. He only misplaced two passes in the whole 90 minutes and made more recoveries (12) and interceptions (4) than any other player on the pitch.
Rice has the ability to dictate games and also to disrupt games and the latter was on full display today. There will be quite a rush for his signature in the coming summer transfer window.
Declan Rice is unreal. The player who comes closest to Kante's almost psychic anticipation of threat. In a half where his side had 45% of the ball, he completed 97% of his passes. 3/3 ground duels won, 3/3 long balls. 2 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 blocked shot.