Manchester United beat West Ham in the first Premier League match to hold spectators in a ground since March 9th.
Tomas Soucek opened the scoring after a lacklustre first half by Manchester United. Credit to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as he brought on Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford to change the game as Pogba, Greenwood and Rashford come up with the goals to seal the win.
Embed from Getty ImagesWest Ham Player Ratings:
Lukasz Fabianski: Perhaps could’ve done better on Greenwood’s goal as it was close to him. No chance for the other two goals. Denied Martial in the first half was his only real save. 5
Fabian Balbuena: Didn’t let anything past him in the first half, intercepting well and forcing Martial back. United’s quality showed as the game went on at the expense of the whole West Ham defence. 6
Angelo Ogbonna: Like Balbuena, had a positive first half as United rarely threatened but the quality of Rashford and Fernandes prevailed. 5
Aaron Cresswell: Whipped the corner in for the goal and linked up well with Masuaku down the left. Didn’t let much through as most of United’s joy was down the opposite side in the second half. 6
Vladimir Coufal (Off 85′): Got forward a few times and nearly set up Bowen at the start of the second half. Rashford was able to get at him frequently. 5
Arthur Masuaku: Had nothing to do defensively in the first half. Put in a few crosses that didn’t threaten. Like Cresswell, the threat was down the opposite side so goals were not his fault. 6
Declan Rice: Headed ball on to set up Soucek. Overall had a fantastic performance dominating Pogba and van de Beek in the first half. Made a few good tackles in the second half as he remained consistent throughout. 8
Tomas Soucek: Good movement as he evaded Telles to score opener. Arrived in the box frequently but didn’t get on the end of much. 7
Embed from Getty ImagesPablo Fornals (Off 75′): Missed two got chances in the first half, one a header that on another day would’ve scored and a toe punt which came back off the post. Was lively but faded in the second half as United improved. 6
Jarrod Bowen (Off 76′): Was running Telles ragged in the first half having a goal disallowed for offside. Put a couple of brilliant balls into the box. Like Fornals, faded in the second half as United improved and was taken off. 7
Sebastien Haller: Slipped at the vital moment as he was sent in behind in the first half. With Maguire and Lindelof running back he hesitated and slipped, blowing a huge opportunity at 1-0. Other than this had no real chances. 5
Embed from Getty ImagesSubstitutes:
Said Benrahma (On 75′): Didn’t influence the game like the United subs did. Had a looping effort tipped over by Henderson. 5
Manuel Lanzini (On 76′): Like Benrahma, didn’t have the desired effect. 5
Ben Johnson (On 85′): Came on for Coufal but not enough time to effect the game. N/A
Manchester United Player Ratings:
Dean Henderson: Didn’t have to make many saves but poor finishing by West Ham in the first half could have made Henderson’s day trickier. 6
Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Recovered fantastically to deny Bowen in the first half. Was the only bright spark in that first half with everyone rising to his level in the second. 7
Victor Lindelof: Slowly improved as the game went on after a horrible first half performance by the whole team. 6
Harry Maguire: Nowhere to be seen for goal due to the zonal marking being implemented. However, similar to Lindelof had a steady performance to see out the win. 6
Alex Telles: Shaky start only got worse when he lost Soucek for the goal. Left Bowen in acres of space too many times but did set up Greenwood’s goal. As a whole a disappointing performance. 5
Embed from Getty ImagesScott McTominay: Gave the ball away a lot in the first half and didn’t offer much cover for the defence. Improved slowly as the game went on to help see out the win. 6
Donny van de Beek (Off 45′): Looked tidy in possession but never threatened the West Ham defence. Sacrificed at half time. 5
Paul Pogba: Absolutely dominated in the first half by Rice and Soucek, however he benefited from the introduction of Bruno Fernandes where his performance improved. Fantastic strike for his goal to silence the critics. 6
Embed from Getty ImagesMason Greenwood: Game of two halves for the young lad. First half was non-existent on the wing, but looked sharp and got himself a much needed goal when switched to striker. Demonstrated his preferred position up front. 7
Anthony Martial (Off 62′): Was switched to striker when Cavani came off, however this did not improve an overall dire performance. No movement and had to come deep to collect ball which didn’t help his cause. 4
Edinson Cavani (Off 45′): A passenger in the first half, got hardly any service but likewise did not provide any movement for the midfielders. Poor performance which typified the team. 5
Substitutes:
Bruno Fernandes (On 45′): Came on at half time and changed the game, quickened the tempo and added more urgency into the play. Set up Pogba’s goal and sent a great ball through to Rashford that he should have scored. 8
Marcus Rashford (On 45′): He also helped change the game with an injection of pace and movement which was devoid in the first half. Drove with the ball at every opportunity. 8
Juan Mata (On 62′): Beautiful ball through to Rashford to kill the game off. 7
Man of the Match – Bruno Fernandes.
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