Ruben Amorim’s side had the opportunity to move up to fifth, level on points with fourth placed Chelsea with a win over West Ham at Old Trafford on Thursday (December 4), but as is so often the case, it went begging.
West Ham started well but after the first 15 minutes or so, United started to assert themselves and largely dominated the game from them on. Still, it took over an hour for the home side to open the scoring thanks to a close-range effort from Diogo Dalot.
The East Londoners didn’t let their head drop, however, and their efforts were rewarded in the 83rd minute with midfielder Soungoutou Magassa scored his first Premier League goal and earned a much-needed point for West Ham.
Ultimately, it was another disappointing outing for Man United and here are five things we learned from the game.
Dropping Leny Yoro was a mistake
One of the big pieces of team news ahead of the game was Amorim’s decision to drop Leny Yoro and give Ayden Heaven a rare chance to impress and the Frenchman conceded a penalty and looked generally poor in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace.
Heaven is a 19-year-old with bags of potential, and he should be given more opportunities, but it was clear when he picked up a yellow card after just eight minutes that starting him was a mistake from Amorim.
He wasn’t bad, he was just a young lad who was maybe a little too keen to make his mark and was replaced with Yoro at half time having failed to make a tackle, won zero duels, while also making four clearances and three recoveries.
So, it could have been better for Heaven, but it could have also been a lot worse. Perhaps bringing him off the bench for a few games before sticking him in for a game like this would have been a better option.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka impresses against former club
Plenty of Man United fans were unhappy when the club decided to sell Wan-Bissaka, and he played in this one like he had a point to prove. Other than goal scorer Magassa, he was probably West Ham’s best player.
Wan-Bissaka did everything expected from a modern full back, doing his job defensively but also being a pretty constant attacking thorn in Man United’s side, ending the game having completed five dribbles, the most of anyone else on the pitch.
He also created two chances, made 13 passes into the opposition third marauding down the right wing while also making a goal line clearance, denying Joshua Zirkzee his second goal in as many games.
West Ham are in need of their big players to step up in big moments, and that’s exactly what Wan-Bissaka did here.
Intensity issues are Man United’s undoing
Amorim demanded intensity before the game, for the first 20 minutes though, it was anything but. United were languid, and a better team than West Ham would have punished them, even in United did eventually rally.
Getting to that point is a positive sign, but the intensity dropped again following Dalot’s goal, and United eventually paid the price, with questions regarding their collective mindset once again resurfacing after some good work in the win over Crystal Palace.
There is no simple answer for Amorim and United here. They undoubtedly have the ability to dominate games, it can’t all be laid on the manager’s ‘system’ either, so it’s likely more psychological than physical, which might be worse.