Man United 3-0 West Ham: Youth, Courage, Success!

Published by CM22ENT on 4 February 20244 February 2024

Before touching on the match at hand, it’s always important to highlight what this time of the year represents for Manchester United fans. Commemorating the Busby Babes and those who sadly departed after the Munich Air Disaster on February 6th 1958. The yearly tradition of managers leading their sides out with the flowers of Manchester to pay tribute took place. One past in David Moyes, one present in Erik ten Hag.

The Red Devils returned to Old Trafford, facing off against a West Ham United side who haven’t won a league game since December 28th against Arsenal. Three straight draws. Erik ten Hag oversaw his sides dramatic 3-4 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers, and having relinquished 2-0 leads in each of their previous two games now, surely if in the same scenario, it would be of high importance to prevent a fatal threepeat.

West Ham United settled into this away fixture quickly. Early chances for the likes of Edson Álvarez, Tomáš Souček and James Ward-Prowse were all denied by either defensive blocks or Andre Onana’s gloves. Warning signs of the attacking threat our East London opponents possessed. That was before the birthday boy Rasmus Højlund thunder bolted his side into the lead after 23 minutes. Took advantage of Casemiro reacting first on a loose ball, and created space for his right footed strike that was pure, and past Alphonse Areola.

Despite the goal, it wasn’t at all straightforward for Man Utd, who conceded a lot of possession in the latter stages of half number one. Luckily poor execution and defensive chip ins made it tough for the Hammers to carve open clear cut opportunities. Potentially a slight bit of luck provided too. Far from a foregone conclusion however…

The home side had to survive a self-inflicted mistake from Harry Maguire losing possession, only for Emerson to fluff his lines in a promising position to begin the second period. In football, it is always fascinating how quick moments like that in particular can be punished. Much like Alejandro Garnacho’s deflected strike, flying past substitute goalkeeper Łukasz Fabiański to double United’s lead. A satisfyingly cheeky celebration to match!

It was a tamer second half, but one that United had to complete the victory with. West Ham committed numbers high up the pitch and may have got a goal back if it wasn’t for Diogo Dalot’s heroic block to shut out their talisman Jarrod Bowen. Summed up an afternoon for the Hammers who were to experience the sharp side of a nail once more as Garnacho bagged his second of the game, from yet another counter attacking opportunity, this time taken advantage of.

A 3-0 scoreline portrays comfort, but challenges many were presented. Well timed goals helped to propel Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United once again to a much less frantic victory in comparison to Thursday’s bout. A worrying injury to Lisandro Martinez’s knee will leave fans around the world hoping for positive news having already missed a large chunk of this season due to his metatarsal surgery in September. Early signs are not good based on what the manager said after full time.

How did you assess the game and each team’s performance? Have your say in the comment section, and feel free to follow my accounts on X, TikTok, and YouTube where I’ll be providing extra Man Utd content and updates.