This was always going to be a tough start to the new Premier League season. The second season in Jose Mourinho’s tenure in his managerial stints so far has always been good for the Portuguese gaffer, and with the Red Devils’ attack spearheaded by a striker who loves to score against West Ham for fun, it perhaps came as no surprise that the visitors ended on the wrong side of a 4-0 scoreline.

West Ham sorely missed the creativity of Manuel Lanzini in attack and the pace of Michail Antonio. United were too good for them, especially in the centre of the park, where the trio of Paul Pogba, Juan Mata and new signing Nemanja Matic outclassed Mark Noble, Pedro Obiang and Edimilson Fernandes.

United dominated the early stages of the game and Mata had two good chances to put them ahead, but the Spaniard failed to make the most of both chances. West Ham held out for half an hour, but the goal came, and it was new signing Matic who was at the heart of it. The Serbian dispossessed Pedro Obiang in midfield and United launched a blistering counter attack in midfield through the speedy Marcus Rashford. Not content with having initiated the move, Matic also ran a clever support line that kept Winston Reid in suspense, and it was enough to give Romelu Lukaku space to score on his OT debut. [Read more…]