West Ham United 2-0 Manchester United: 5 Men who were poor for the Red Devils
Manchester United travelled to the London Stadium on Sunday knowing that a win could take them to third in the table. The Red Devils had managed two back to back victories in the build-up to the game and were slowly regaining a little bit of their confidence.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men had not won an away game in the Premier League since March of this year and United were desperate to change that record. However, it was never going to be easy against West Ham.
The Hammers had won 2, drawn 2 and lost 1 of their 5 games, just like Manchester United, ahead of the tie. Solskjaer was still missing Anthony Martial, Luke Shaw and Paul Pogba, while Mason Greenwood was also ruled out of the game due to tonsillitis. However, the Norwegian had Daniel James available for selection and that helped him name the same first eleven that won against Leicester City
Manchester United Starting XI: David de Gea; Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire, Ashley Young; Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Juan Mata; Daniel James, Marcus Rashford, Andreas Pereira.
Even though the visitors started well, Solskjaer’s men could not gain control of the game and were subsequently punished in the 44th minute, when Andriy Yarmolenko gave his team the lead. The first half ended with the score 1-0 in West Ham United’s favour.
Both teams had chances to score in the second half. West Ham United doubled the score in the 84th minute when Aaron Cresswell scored from a free-kick. The game ended 2-0 in West Ham United’s favour. United succumbed to their second defeat in the Premier League this season and here are 5 men who were poor on the day.
#5 Daniel James
The Welshman started in his favoured left forward role but had an off day on the pitch. Daniel James lacked his usual energy on the field and failed to have any significant impact in the game. He looked a yard off the pace as well and failed to cause the opposing defence too many problems with his speed.
James also had a few chances to score in the second half but lacked precision in the final third. Manchester United desperately needed their fiery Welshman against West Ham United, but James failed to turn up and had a day to forget.
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