The "Red Devils" are not going to let go of the Top 4 fight. By four Chelsea had lost only five points before the match with West Ham. Manuel Pellegrini's charges keep a safe place in the middle of the table and today they wanted to repeat the feat of the 7th round, when they defeated United 3:1.
Squads:
Manchester United: De Gea- Rojo (75' Pereira), Smalling, Jones, Dalot- Pogba, Fred, Mata (55' Rashford), Lingard, Martial- Lukaku (76' Greenwood)
West Ham: Fabianski- Masuaku, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Zabaleta (76' Fredericks)- Noble, Rice, Anderson, Lanzini (62' Diangana), Snodgrass- Hernandez (73' Antonio)
This match was announced as a competition between the two most busy goalkeepers of the Premier League. Lukasz Fabianski and David De Gea can't rely on their defensive teammates and intervene most often in the whole league. The host goalkeeper had his first chance to prove himself, because already in the 10th minute Felipe Anderson got the ball around the sixth meter. The Brazilian did not hesitate for a moment and defeated the Spaniard with a certain shot. The joy of the guests did not last long, however, because a few seconds later the judge whistled the burned one. As the repetitions showed later, the referee was wrong.
The rivalry on Old Trafford was very balanced, every now and then we moved from one goal to another. In the 17th minute, Juan Mata rushed into the penalty box and was fouled by Snodgrass. The judge dictated a penalty shootout, although in this situation there was no lack of controversy either. Paul Pogba approached the ball set on the eleventh meter and with a certain shot defeated Lukasz Fabianski. West Ham's players didn't intend to break down and continued their good game. It was easy for them to get to the rival's goal, but they lacked the finishing touch to the action.
Slowly, the first half was coming to an end. Solskjaer's charges looked really bad. For the first 45 minutes they fired only one target shot, namely Pogba from a penalty shootout. Nevertheless, the match was a pleasure to watch. The guests had a lot to offer in the offensive and I hoped they would maintain such a high level after the break.
The patience and consistency of West Ham's players brought results just four minutes after the resumption of the game. Manuel Lanzini crossed the ball into the penalty area, where Felipe Anderson was the best placed. The best shooter of the team finally got his way and from a close distance he got into the net. This time, there was no burning.
He had a lot of work to do after the Fabianski break. Lukaku and the company wanted to take the lead as soon as possible, so they started shooting at the power. The best opportunity to score a goal was in the 60th minute Marcus Rashford, who had just appeared on the pitch. The English attacker rushed towards the goal and fired a strong shot on the ground. If it weren't for the parade of the Polish goalkeeper, it would be 2:1.
Fifteen minutes before the end of the meeting, the guests were pressed again. After Chicharito, Michail Antonio appeared on the pitch and within three minutes he was able to register twice on the list of shooters. First the football after his shot hit the bar, and then his head shot defended De Gea.
In the 79th minute there was a commotion at the goal of Lukasz Fabianski, because the judge again dictated a penalty kick for United. This time Martial was fouled, and to perform the penalty once again set Pogba. The Frenchman won the war of nerves with the Pole, hitting hard and precisely. So we had 2:1, and West Ham went into desperate attacks.
During the five counted minutes, the guests were no longer able to create a threat under the goal of their rivals and left Old Trafford without a point score. I'm sure they're disappointed because they didn't leave the Manchester players behind at all, and if they used all their opportunities today, they'd be happy to win. However, there's no need to worry, and the facts are such that the "Red Devils" advanced to the fifth place and they lose only two points to Chelsea. The battle for Top 4 promises to be fascinating.
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