Man Utd rue missed chance in West Ham draw / Photo: © AFP
Man Utd rue missed chance in West Ham draw
Manchester United's issues defending a lead cost them a place in the Premier League's top five after lowly West Ham hit back to salvage a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday.
Diogo Dalot's first league goal in 19 months put Ruben Amorim's men in front but they failed to see the game out as Soungoutou Magassa secured a vital point in the visitors' battle to avoid relegation.
United have only lost once in their last eight games, but could have been in a far better position but for dropped points from promising positions against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham, Everton and now West Ham.
The Red Devils sit eighth in the table, just two points off the top four. A draw edges West Ham to within two points of safety as their upturn under Nuno Espirito Santo continues.
Amorim welcomed back Matheus Cunha from injury to bolster the United attack, but the hosts still lacked the invention and intensity required to break down the Hammers' well-organised defence.
Joshua Zirkzee ended nearly a year-long wait for a Premier League goal to kickstart United's comeback to beat a jaded Crystal Palace on Sunday.
But the Dutchman was again ineffective in the absence of the injured Benjamin Sesko as the focal point of the United attack.
Zirkzee did come closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time when he improvised to thigh Amad Diallo's dangerous cross goalwards and Aaron Wan-Bissaka cleared off the line to deny his former club.
West Ham's reprieve nearly lasted just a few seconds as the loose ball fell to Bruno Fernandes who clipped the outside of the post with an audacious attempt on the volley.
The visitors were shorn of the threat of Lucas Paqueta after the Brazilian talked himself into a red card for dissent in Sunday's defeat to Liverpool.
Jarrod Bowen therefore had to shoulder even more of the creative burden for the Hammers and nearly produced a goal out of nothing with a jinking run through four United challenges before his effort deflected kindly into the arms of Senne Lammens.
United finally made their dominance of possession count through an unlikely source just before the hour mark.
Amorim publicly admitted last week that Dalot was one of those "far from his best" in the United squad.
The Portuguese full-back responded with his first Premier League goal since May 2024. Casemiro's deflected effort fell kindly for Dalot, but he showed his fleetness of foot to control before sweeping the ball into the far corner.
But United were left to rue not building on their advantage as the Hammers hit back.
Bowen was again the catalyst as he firstly won a corner and then flicked Andy Irvine's delivery goalwards.
Noussair Mazraoui cleared off the line but only into the path of Magassa, who slotted home his first goal in English football.
Fernandes still had two chances to snatch all three points in stoppage time but on both occasions lacked his normal composure with wild finishes that flew well over the bar.
J.Hoffmann--NRZ
