Manchester United failed to beat West Ham at Old Trafford on Wednesday, meaning they only hold a one point lead over 5th placed Leicester.
The first half had very few clear-cut chances for either side, right up until the half-time whistle. West Ham had been the better side, and got rewarded for their efforts when Paul Pogba, in a moment of madness, blocked a shot from Declan Rice with his hands. Instead of putting his head through and clearing, he put his arms up to protect himself. It was a shot that had been hit with real venom, and it would have hurt Pogba to head that ball, but would you have seen Nemanja Vidić give away a penalty instead of putting his head through it? Anyway, VAR awarded the penalty, and Michail Antonio tucked it away to continue his unbelievable run of form.
United started the second-half much improved. Just 5 minutes after the whistle, Greenwood played a lovely one-two with Martial, and the teenager was able to hit home to score the equaliser on his 50th appearance for the club.
You would’ve thought that the fast equaliser would have sparked a fast turnaround from the home side, but it was the Hammers who played better and even had the better chances. But neither side was able to break the stalemate, and the game ended as a 1-1 tie.
The result moves United up to 3rd in the league, but they hold a lead over 5th placed Leicester of just 1 point. That makes for a mouth-watering final-day matchup between those two sides on Sunday. The point also gives West Ham mathematical safety in the Premier League, and Moyes will be happy to have prevented his old team from the win.
Player Ratings
Man Utd
David De Gea – 6
Timothy Fosu-Mensah – 4.5
Harry Maguire – 6.5
Victor Lindelof – 5.5
Brandon Williams – 6.5
Nemanja Matic – 7
Paul Pogba – 4
Bruno Fernandes – 4.5
Mason Greenwood – 7.5
Marcus Rashford – 5
Anthony Martial – 7
Subs:
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 6
Odion Ighalo – 5
West Ham
Lukasz Fabianski – 7
Benjamin Johnson – 7
Issa Diop – 7
Angelo Ogbonna – 7.5
Aaron Cresswell – 6.5
Tomáš Souček – 8.5 (MOTM)
Declan Rice – 7.5
Jarrod Bowen – 7
Mark Noble – 7
Pablo Fornals – 6.5
Michail Antonio – 8
Subs:
Arthur Masuaku – 5
Sebastien Haller – 5
Andriy Yarmolenko – N/A
By Jed Vine
