West Ham put in one of their best away performances of the season but still ended up on the wrong side of the scoreline as Manchester United prevailed 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to a pair of penalties from Paul Pogba. Here are our talking points from the game.

West Ham won hearts, but not points: Going into the game, no one expected Manchester United, even if they rested several first team regulars, to be really troubled by West Ham. The Hammers had been awful (to put it mildly!) on the road in the lead up to this game, and had scored only one goal in their last seven away games in the league.

Instead the Hammers dominated possession, had more passes (519 to United’s 373), shots and touches of the ball, and a whopping 11 corners in comparison to United’s three.

If they had VAR and a little more luck, they might’ve even been able to register their first league double over the Red Devils since the 2006/07 season. As it transpired, two soft moments of defending lead to their downfall, and United- Ole Gunnar Solskjaer admitted as much after the game, were lucky to take all three points.

Manuel Lanzini went off injured at the wrong time: The little Argentine will be the first to tell you that he’s not been at his best since returning from injury. Given his long layoff, that’s perhaps understandable. He started on the left side of Pellegrini’s 4-2-3-1 formation at Old Trafford, with Felipe Anderson taking the right. Lanzini was instrumental in West Ham’s equaliser, and just as he was beginning to get into the game, he had to be taken off. It robbed the Hammers of some of their momentum and a player who could’ve been key to unlocking the United defence. [Read more…]

West Ham will be looking to complete a league double over Manchester United when they square off against Ole Gunnar Solskajer’s men at Old Trafford later this evening. United have lost four of their last five under the Norwegian, and come into this fixture on the back of a midweek defeat to Barcelona in the Champions League.

West Ham were well beaten 2-0 by Chelsea last Monday. They had their moments in the game, especially in the second half, but were ultimately no match for the brilliance for Belgian forward Eden Hazard, who scored a brace.

The referee for this game is Graham Scott, under whom United have never lost a game (P3 W3). West Ham’s last game under him was that dreadful 2-0 loss to Cardiff City last month.

What do the pundits think of West Ham’s chances at Old Trafford? Let’s take a look.

Mark Lawrenson: Lawro says that United’s defeat against Barca showed how far off the pace the Red Devils were in Europe, but reckons they will be too strong for the Hammers. Has gone for a 2-0 win to United. [Read more…]