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Five in a row
Manchester United came from behind once again Saturday to beat West Ham 3-1.
The home crowd of 2,000 at London Stadium was no match for United’s resilience as the Reds came back for a fifth straight time to win on the road.
Game Story
This was a highly anticipated matchup for many reasons.
There was David Moyes looking for revenge against his former side that he managed for less than a season before being sacked.
There was the return of fans along with the Hammers four-match unbeaten run at home.
The extra boost of fans seemed to spark the Hammers who were on the attack early on.
In the second minute some nice work from Jarrod Bowen to cut inside the left-wing.
His left-footed shot took a deflection to Pablo Fornals in front of Dean Henderson who came up with the save.
Seven minutes later West Ham thought they’d opened the scoring when Bowen snuck in behind the Reds defence to fire home a strike in the bottom left corner.
However, he just mistimed his run and it was ruled out for offside.
In the 32nd minute, the Hammers continued to press.
Bowen slipped past Scott McTominay and Alex Telles down the right.
His superb cross found Fornals but his header went just wide.
Bowen was at it again three minutes later.
West Ham’s top goalscorer made a superb run beating a couple of United defenders before placing a nice low cross to Sebastien Haller.
He flicked it towards Fornals who couldn’t get enough power behind his shot to trouble Henderson.
The breakthrough for West Ham finally came in the 38th minute.
A beautiful glancing header by Declan Rice found Tomas Soucek at the back post.
The Czech international tapped it in from close range to put West Ham in front.
United had a chance to equalize just before the interval.
A nice exchange of passes between Telles and Anthony Martial sent the Frenchman free down the left.
The birthday boy however was denied by a nice save from Fabianski.
In the second half the Hammers should have doubled their lead in the 52nd minute.
It was Bowen again starting the movement down the left-wing.
A nice feed from him to Haller who found Vladimir Coufal inside the box.
The right-backs strike found Bowen who couldn’t hit the target.
It’s a chance David Moyes’ side would come to regret later on.
In the 65th minute midfielder, Paul Pogba put the Reds on level terms.
Some nice work from Bruno Fernandes down the right-wing to cut inside and lay it off for the Frenchman.
Pogba curled his effort into the top right corner leaving Fabianski no chance.
Three minutes later United took the lead.
A great cross from Telles found Mason Greenwood who was able to take a touch, turn and drill a perfect shot in the right-hand corner to make it 2-1.
In the 72nd minute, the Reds came close to a third.
A brilliant feed from Fernandes to Marcus Rashford who raced through on goal.
The Englishman’s shot unfortunately struck the post.
Rashford made no mistake however in the 78th minute.
A great through-ball by Juan Mata sent him clear on goal.
This time Rashford chipped it over Fabianski and into the back of the net.
Crashing the Party
The Hammers faithful were looking for a grand return to London Stadium but Manchester United had other ideas.
It’s the first match (2,000) fans were allowed into the stadium since the outbreak of COVID in the spring.
Despite taking the lead in the first half United did what they’ve done a lot lately staged a dramatic comeback to win their ninth consecutive Premier League road game.
United has now won their first five away games in the top-flight for the first time since the 1985-86 season.
They’re now only the second side in the EPL to score 2 plus goals in nine straight away matches.
Leeds United was the first to do that in 2001.
Super Subs
Just like last week Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side got a much-needed spark off their bench.
Trailing 1-0 after 45 minutes Rashford came in for Edinson Cavani, Fernandes replaced Donny van de Beek, and Mata took Martials place.
All three players were directly involved in United’s three second-half goals.
That’s only the second time United’s ever done that in a Premier League match.
The first time came in 2017 when Maroune Fellaini, Rashford, and Jesse Lingard did it in a match against Leicester City.
With 36 goal involvements in 38 games, Fernandes has more than any other Premier League player in such a short period of time.
Managers Words
Despite the defeat West Ham manager David Moyes liked how his team played.
“I thought we played very well tonight. The only reason we got stretched was a poor decision. The ball went over my head on the touchline, there was no-one in a better position to see it than me.”
United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said he was proud of how his team responded in the second half.
“It was a poor first half. We played against a good team who make it difficult for you. They are very compact and good at pressing. Of course, the first goal changed the mood, and it was an amazing goal. All three goals were absolutely exceptional.”
“I am very happy with our away form. We are coping better with games like this. Belief is a big thing – they have got that through the results and performances they are having.”
Man of the Match
It was another inspiring performance for young Marcus Rashford to spark the come from behind win.
The 23-year-old scored his 14th career goal as a substitute the third-most in club history behind only his current manager and Javier Hernandez.
Rashford now has four goals and five assists in his last seven Premier League matches away from Old Trafford.
Where they sit
For the first-time all-season, Man United are now in a position to qualify for Europe.
With 19 points from 10 matches they’re temporarily in fourth position with a game in hand on the teams ahead of them.
It’s the first time all season they’ve cracked the top five.
The Hammers drop out of the top five and into seventh with the defeat as they remain on 17 points.
Next Up
United now face a mountainous task in the Champions League needing a result in their final group fixture this Tuesday against RB Leipzig.
The Red Bulls have yet to lose at home this season but United hopes to change that.
The kickoff on Tuesday is at 8 pm.
United fans have circled next week’s Premier League fixture on their calendar for months as the club’s next domestic league match is Saturday against Manchester City.
The first derby of the season kicks off at 5 pm from Old Trafford. (JSL)
