It was the battle of two sides unbeaten in the Premier League so far this season this afternoon, with United faced with the challenge of overcoming David Moyes' in-form West Ham side. The squad selection saw Raphael Varane return in place of the omitted Victor Lindelof, with Jadon Sancho dropped to the bench to facilitate a return for Mason Greenwood on the opposite flank to Paul Pogba. Scott McTominay returned to the fray alongside Fred following the groin issue which saw him undergo a minor operation, starting for the first time since the opening day of the season against Leeds. Cristiano Ronaldo is already, and undisputedly, the first name on the teamsheet.
There weren't necessarily many clear-cut opportunities throughout the early exchanges, but it was a positive and attacking opening from United. There was lots of possession from the off, with West Ham seemingly fatigued given their two less days of preparation. The Hammers' defence was tested increasing amounts as time progressed, with numerous early crosses and balls played towards the United front line.
However, the best early opportunity came against the run of play for West Ham: Harry Maguire took far too long to deal with the ball at the back and was dispossessed, with Jared Bowen denied by a crucial block from Varane. Amidst the spell of prolonged possession, United did grow slightly sloppy and begun to give the ball away excessively in phases. Consequently, West Ham were able to nudge themselves into contention as chances grew more frequent. They proved well-drilled and disciplined both defensively and going forward, which ultimately started to pay off as the game evened up.
United struggled to provide enough for Ronaldo given the staunch opposing defensive system, with the Portuguese international initially limited to very little joy. Nonetheless, the reds showed determination to manage to maintain and develop their foothold and continue to apply growing pressure. After the 25 minute mark - when Ronaldo recorded his first shot - it was clear United found their groove. Just shy of the half hour mark came United's best chance, as Bruno Fernandes struck the post with a powerful driven effort after the ball fell to him following a corner; Lukasz Fabianski managed to get a vital fingertip to the shot, spectacularly denying Fernandes from finding the bottom corner.
Despite United's number of attempts increasing, it was West Ham who rather fortunately took the lead subsequent to Fernandes hitting the woodwork. David de Gea was cruelly beaten by a wicked deflection off Varane, with Said Benrahma's relatively timid effort unluckily finding its way past the Spaniard. Once again, United were in a position to have to come from behind on the road (a repeat of last season at the London Stadium).
The United response was evident, with an instant opportunity to level affairs after McTominay sent Ronaldo through on goal. Uncharacteristically, it was a poor touch which cost United's number seven and prevented an equaliser. The progressive ball through to Ronaldo was a reminder of how much United have missed McTominay during his spell sidelined, with such a wide variety of attributes offered by the Scotsman.
Fabianski was further tested, with United staying in their stride even though they found themselves trailing. The next attempt for Ronaldo proved far better than the previous, once again from a Fernandes delivery; the lofted ball across was pinpoint, with Ronaldo simply slotting into an open net after Fabianski parried the initial effort. Four goals in three games since his homecoming: not too bad a return!
The response was timely around 10 minutes prior to the break, with United's typically resilient attitude coming to the forefront. From there, the momentum proved key. Ronaldo became a key feature at the heart of everything good engineered by United, as the visiting side begun to dominate once more heading into the pause. By the end of the opening 45 minutes, Solskjaer's side had managed more shots on target than any other team in the first half of a Premier League match so far this season. Ronaldo accounted for five of United's ten attempts, and four of the seven on target; his four shots on target was double the amount West Ham managed throughout the period.
Heading into the second half, United continued with their lively nature. Combined with some early errors from the Hammers, the reds stayed very much on top. Ronaldo had another chance early on, with Fabianski once again proving his worth to close him down and deny him one on one. Frustratingly, the sustained United pressure was sporadically marred more and more by progressively pedestrian phases. West ham were limited for a while, but the reds' level did drop off. Eventually, as a result, the hosts managed to restore a basis in the game as United's intensity diminished with tiredness growing.
Greenwood and Pogba were withdrawn by Solskjaer as the half progressed, replaced by Jadon Sancho and Jesse Lingard in order to try and restore some urgency. Some presence in the game was restored as intended, though West Ham worked hard enough to ensure affairs remained in the balance.
The manic nature of the closing stages couldn't have been foreseen by anyone.
After his costly midweek error against Young Boys, substitute Lingard gained redemption with a stunning goal at the death of regulation time. After a surging pass into his feet from late substitute Nemanja Matic, Lingard intricately manoeuvred the ball into space to hit with perfect accuracy into the top corner from just inside the box. He intended for celebrations to be muted in front of the loving crowd of the side who catalysed his rejuvenation last season, though it proved anything but in the corner where the away end is situated.
There was still time to go, with three minutes of additional time. Matic's addition prior to the goal proved timely as it strengthened the defence even further, with McTominay providing a vital challenge on the edge of the box to nullify a promising West Ham move. It wasn't all passive from United, though, with Ronaldo exerting a huge penalty claim down at the opposite end having been seemingly wiped out by Kurt Zouma with the ball nowhere near. VAR brushed it away, and so we went on.
Promptly, the ball was back down with West Ham in the final third and they had a penalty claim of their own. Andriy Yarmolenko's cross was unintentionally blocked by Luke Shaw's arm, and was undeniably a penalty for the Hammers. Reminiscent of Gareth Southgate's move in the Euro 2020 Final, David Moyes introduced Mark Noble to take the spot kick in his final season with the club. The substitute stepped up and was denied remarkably by a brick wall of a hand from De Gea to usher the ball out of harm's way. It was the first penalty the Spaniard has saved since 2016 (the first in the Premier League since 2014), and a first miss for Noble in almost five years.
Everybody - including Solskjaer - charged to De Gea on the full time whistle, celebrating what was a treat of a victory for the away supporters to oversee. United's 'numero uno' has been absolutely outstanding so far this season, and the save caps off that point. The last few years have been marred with criticism and many doubts over his future, but wow has he proven near enough everybody wrong over the last couple of months? The Europa League Final was a low, and you can't forget this is a guy who couldn't even start over Unai Simon for Spain during the summer. The way he has responded with sheer determination has been outstanding.
Kudos to Jesse Lingard, too. His mentality is just exceptional. To make a pretty detrimental error against Young Boys must have hurt him, but he entirely put it behind him to take the game to West Ham and help us to secure the three points after coming on. The quality he showed was sensational, with intricacy on display to shift the ball into an area to fire into the top corner for his goal. It’s now two goals in two league matches for him, carrying on his exceptional form that was apparent during his spell with the Hammers earlier this year. His career has been revitalised, and that’s absolutely credit to him.
The spirit of this side as a whole is sensational. I raved on about it last season, but the ability to constantly and reliably come from behind to win is an exceptional trait to have. They have now won 15 more points from losing positions (35) than any other side since the start of last season. There was plenty of adversity today with the unfortunate goal conceded, some potential penalties denied and the late penalty given away; still, we stood firm and held our own. Things are looking incredibly positive, and the feel good factor is returning.
"Football, bloody hell."
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