FA Cup: Manchester United 1-1 West Ham United : Five talking points
Manchester United kept their hopes of lifting the 2016 FA Cup alive, as Anthony Martial’s late equaliser cancelled out Dimitri Payet’s wonderful free-kick to take the tie to a replay at Upton Park – the last cup tie at the venue. French playmaker Payet, who many feel should not have been on the field – put the visitors ahead midway through the second half with a world-class free kick from around 25 yards out.Manchester United’s pressing high up the pitch after going behind gave them the reward of an equaliser on 82 minutes when Anthony Martial met an Ander Herrera cross from the right by-line to beat Hammers’ keeper Darren Randolph – who appeared to be obstructed by Bastian Schweinsteiger. United survived a succession of West Ham corners in injury time to avoid defeat and have another crack at Slaven Bilic’s side in the replay.We look at the five talking points that may have shaped a riveting encounter at Old Trafford:
#1 Dimitri Payet should have been sent off moments before the free-kick
No doubt Dimitri Payet’s free-kick to put West Ham in front deserved a pat on the back. But most people will argue that the 28-year old should have been given his marching orders by referee Martin Atkinson for diving a few minutes before the goal.
As the Frenchman skipped past Marouane Fellaini and approached the penalty box, he saw Marcos Rojo from left-back committing to a ground tackle before rightly pulling out just in time. Payet, who would have been better off had he stayed on his feet – saw the challenge coming and immediately made the decision to go to ground in order to win a penalty. Replays showed that Rojo didn’t even make contact with Payet – who was already on a booking – as he pulled out of the challenge.
By standard rules, that was a blatant dive by the Frenchman and should have merited a second yellow card and hence, a red card. Mr. Atkinson’s decision not to send Payet off was welcomed with wrath by Old Trafford. That anger was intensified when Payet’s free-kick went off the inside of the post and into the back of the net to give the Hammers the lead. Thankfully enough, Martial’s equaliser alleviated some of the fans’ frustration at the Payet diving decision.