Manchester United 1-3 West Ham United: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis

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Embarrassment

Manchester United suffered another embarrassing defeat as West Ham United thoroughly dominated them at the London Stadium this evening. Felipe Anderson and Marko Arnautovic scored even as Victor Lindelof scored an own goal to make it three for Manuel Pellegrini's side. Marcus Rashford scored for United, but couldn't prevent another shambolic defeat for Jose Mourinho and his team.

Here are the 5 major talking points and tactical analysis from the match:

#5: West Ham United dominate and capitalize early on

Anderson opened the scoring

Right from the start, Manchester United were pegged back by a series of dominating passing moves from West Ham United. United didn’t press, neither were they able to recover the possession when the ball was near the box.

Usually, the team applies a ‘mid-block’ strategy, but even that did not work today as the Hammers clearly looked more commanding in possession.

Mark Noble and Declan Rice released the wingers whenever there was an opportunity. Similarly, Marko Arnautovic asserted his physical dominance inside the box.

Accordingly, Pablo Zabaleta charged ahead on the right flank on one of the released deliveries through the centre and delivered a low cross to Felipe Anderson. The left-winger cheekily flicked it in and the Hammers got a deserved lead very early in the game. 

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