MUFC Player Ratings: West Ham United vs Manchester United
Just over a month ago, Jose Mourinho’s Manchester United played out a disastrous 1-1 draw at home to West Ham United. Since that fixture, the Reds have turned their fortunes around, winning their latest six games in all competitions while West Ham have managed to build the slightest sense of momentum which has subsequently taken them out of the relegation scrap. Despite United’s good form, Mourinho desperately needed another three points to keep pressure on the top five, who have performed equally well over the festive period.
The game, officiated by Mike Dean, was an ugly affair. West Ham started strongly but were hampered by Dean’s decision to send of Sofiane Feghouli in the 15th minute. The Algerian jumped into a 50/50 challenge with Phil Jones with a single leg outstretched and was harshly punished by the referee who has a record of making a meal of dubious decisions. Consequently, the Hammers sat back in two banks of four and invited United to break them down, a task which the Red Devils spectacularly failed to do in the first 45.
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Mourinho spotted that United were lacking impetus and hauled off Matteo Darmian for Juan Mata at half time. The Reds’ attacking tempo increased, but they struggled to find a way through West Ham’s ridged shape. On the hour mark, Marcus Rashford replaced the below-par Jessie Lingard to add pace and directness to United and chances quickly followed. Just four minutes after the youngster’s arrival, Rashford danced past Håvard Nordtveit at right back and pulled the ball back for Mata to smash past Darren Randolph.
Chris Smalling was brought on for Henrikh Mkhitaryan to readjust United’s balance as West Ham sought an equaliser. Unfortunately for the Hammers, another refereeing decision led to their demise; a deflected clearance off Ander Herrera fell to the offside Zlatan Ibrahimovi?, who, in clinical style, fired the ball past Randolph to end the contest. While Mourinho can fairly claim that his side have been hard done by refereeing decisions at Old Trafford, the Portuguese manager should feel relieved that his side gained all three points at the Olympic stadium when his team, quite frankly, did not look up to the task.
Player Ratings
GK: David De Gea: 8
Made two very good saves from Manuel Lanzini in the first half, the second a cat-like bat away which was the outstanding moment from the opening 45 minutes. Made a very good save in the second half from Michail Antonio when the game was still 0-0.
RB: Antonio Valencia: 6
One of Valencia’s poorest performances this season. That being said, he has set the bar high with his consistency thus far. Hit Randolph with his shot in the 35th minute when only two yards out. Showed uncharacteristically poor positioning in the second half when he played Antonio onside for his golden chance. A late challenge in the second half saw him booked but the Ecuadorian did look dangerous at times on the right flank, so it was not a completely disastrous performance.
RCB: Phil Jones: 6
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Not a good game from Jones, who has been so assured in United’s recent run of good form. After his collision with Feghouli which saw the Algerian sent off, West Ham’s home support continuously booed the former Blackburn Rovers player, which seemed to get the better him. Made some sloppy errors with his passing and lunged in to give Dimitri Payet a chance to trouble De Gea at the end of the first half. Other than that, the Englishman did make a solid seven clearances, more than any other player on the pitch.
LCB: Marcos Rojo: 6
Was untroubled for much of the game but struggled to deal with Andy Carrol’s presence when the gigantic striker came off the bench. Lost Antonio for his headed chance in the 52nd minute but was otherwise decent.
LB: Matteo Darmian: 6
Put in two good tackles early on and some of his crosses were more testing than normal. Earnt a yellow card for a poor tackle on Cheikhou Kouyaté at the end of the first half which probably led to Mourinho’s decision to haul the Italian off at half time.
CDM: Michael Carrick: 7
Missed a tackle on Payet in a dangerous area in the 7th minute which went unpunished but looked confident and solid thereafter. Dictated United’s tempo and played some good forward passes to the wingers when the Reds’ lacked attacking rhythm. His pin-point pass out to Rashford in the 62nd minute led to United’s opening goal. Looked comfortable at centre back too in the early stages of the second half, although he was hardly troubled.
RCM: Ander Herrera: 7
As busy as ever, providing the link between United’s attack and defence. Made five interceptions, more than any other player on the pitch, and two key passes. Luckily earnt an assist by closing down the Hammer’s defence and deflecting a clearance into the path of the offside Ibrahimovi?. On another day his smartly executed volley in the 83rd would have found the back of the net instead of Randolph’s strong palm.
LCM: Paul Pogba: 8
Had a very good all round performance, winning plenty of tackles and headers but sometimes pondered on the ball when an incisive pass was needed. That being said, the Frenchman went close to scoring twice in the second half and was the most dominant midfielder on the pitch.
RM: Jessie Lingard: 5
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Lingard’s critics will look at his performance against West Ham as evidence of his incapability. While they have a fair argument, Lingard is normally much better. Was not helped by Feghouli’s sending off; West Ham’s deep-lying nature invited technical players to carve them open, something which Lingard cannot consistently provide. Missed an absolute sitter in the 35th minute, which, to be fair, came at him quickly. It did, however, sum up his game.
LM: Henrikh Mkhitaryan: 7
Led by example from the front, pressing high and willing his team forward with his direct running. Made three tackles and three key passes, the joint most of anyone else on the pitch. Set Valencia up with a brilliant cross in the first half which should have led to United taking the lead. Was substituted in the second half for Smalling in Mourinho’s bid to solidify all three points.
ST: Zlatan Ibrahimovi?: 7
While the Swede can be infuriating at times, the quality always seems to shine through. Shanked a decent opportunity in the first half but his snapshot finish in the second half made up for it, even if he was the wrong side of West Ham’s defence when the ball was played. In the second half, when West Ham were chasing the game, Zlatan grew in importance with his hold up play and smart passing important to United going forward.
Subs
Juan Mata: 8
His arrival saw United improve dramatically. His short passing and subtle movement instantly created opportunities for himself and his teammates. His goal was emphatically taken.
Marcus Rashford: 9
Having spent much of this season on the sidelines, many would expect the youngster to get frustrated. Instead, Rashford has quietly got on with training and taken his moments to impress Mourinho. United looked good when Mata came on. United looked great when Rashford came on. His shimmy and pull back to Mata for the first goal was exactly what the Reds had been missing. Could have got himself another couple of assists if Pogba and Herrera had tucked away a similar opportunities to Mata’s. Almost scored when Randolph spilled his swirling shot in the 75th.
Chris Smalling: 6
Came on for Mkhitaryan after United had taken the lead and added some much needed balance to ranks. Composed when called upon, which was not very often.
