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West Ham 2 – 1 Man Utd

West Ham 2 – 1 Man Utd

Jarrod Bowen scored a controversial 90th-minute penalty as West Ham secured a valuable 2-1 win over Manchester United at the London Stadium and leapfrogged Erik ten Hag's side in the table.

Casemiro appeared to have salvaged a point for the visitors after substitute Crysencio Summerville capitalized on a shocking first-half finish to give West Ham the lead.

But there was drama in the final moments when referee David Coote was sent to the pitch monitor by VAR Michael Oliver to investigate a collision between Matthijs de Ligt and Danny Ings. Replays appeared to show the United defender hitting the ball with his thigh before catching the West Ham attacker on the lower leg, but after much review Coote concluded there was enough contact to award a penalty justify.

The Man Utd players were outraged, but Bowen kept his cool, found the bottom corner and took his side to 13th in the table, ahead of Man Utd in goals scored.

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo react after the 1-2 defeat against West Ham
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Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo react after the 1-2 defeat against West Ham

It was a real hammer blow for Ten Hag, who had seen Diogo Dalot shoot a contender for the miss of the season over an unguarded goal in the first 45 minutes, which also saw Alejandro Garnacho hit the crossbar and Edson Alvarez head against the frame own goal for West Ham and Man Utd misses a number of other good opportunities.

The pressure on Ten Hag will increase again. For his team it is just one win in eight games in all competitions. In contrast, the observation of his counterpart Julen Lopetegui is decreasing.

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Sky Sports reporter Paul Gilmour and senior football journalist Pete Smith reflect on West Ham's victory over Manchester United in the Premier League.

Ten Hag: It was wrong that the VAR intervened in the penalty decision

Erik ten Hag gestures on the sidelines
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Erik ten Hag gestures on the sidelines

Man Utd Boss Erik ten Hag:

“It is not clear and obvious how VAR works. How they carry out their process. Before the season they explained the process of VAR – only when it is clear and obvious should they intervene. What they didn't do against Spurs was a wrong decision. “And now they're making a wrong decision by interfering, and both are having a big impact on the games. I'm not criticizing the staff, I'm criticizing the process.

“We created so many chances and played such good football, especially in the first half. I want my team to play with and without possession of the ball. I counted six or seven 100 percent chances that we should have scored. That's one.' But overall I didn't have that many criticisms of my team, apart from the fact that they didn't score.

Player Reviews:

West Ham: Fabianski (8), Wan-Bissaka (5), Mavropanos (5), Kilman (6), Emerson (5), Rodriguez (6), Alvarez (6), Soler (5), Paqueta (5), Bowen (8 ), Antonio (6).

Subs: Summerville (8), Todibo (7), Soucek (6), Ings (7).

Man Utd: Onana (6), Mazraoui (7), De Ligt (6), Martinez (6), Dalot (5), Casemiro (7), Eriksen (6), Fernandes (7), Garnacho (7), Hojlund (6) , Rashford (6).

Subs: Diallo (6), Zirkzee (6), Lindelof (N/A)

Player of the game: Crysencio Summerville (West Ham)

“Luck is definitely not on our side at the moment. Last season was no different. We turned things around towards the end. If we keep playing like we are now – Brentford, Fenerbahce, today we played really good football.”

Was De Ligt punished harshly in the penalty incident?

Man Utd players surround referee David Coote
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Man Utd players surround referee David Coote

Sky Sports' Peter Smith…

In the 87th minute there was contact between De Ligt and Ings in the penalty area. Referee Coote initially did not award a penalty. However, VAR Michael Oliver felt Ings' lower leg made sufficient contact to recommend an on-field review.

Coote then spent about two minutes on the pitchside monitor watching replays of the incident.

Referee David Coote goes to the VAR monitor to check if there is a possible penalty for West Ham
Picture:
Referee David Coote goes to the VAR monitor to check if there is a possible penalty for West Ham

It appeared De Ligt touched the ball with his thigh before catching the West Ham attacker on the lower leg, but referee Coote ultimately ruled the challenge a foul and awarded a penalty.

The journalists around us in the press box agreed it would not be handed down as a punishment, and there was shock when it was awarded.

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Clinton Morrison and Jamie O'Hara discuss the decision to award West Ham United a penalty in their win over Manchester United

Jamie O'Hara on Sky Sports News:

“It was a refereeing of the game again. The referee on the field could see it, he didn’t give it.”

“There wasn’t enough contact.

“That wasn’t a real foul. It's just a small contact in the penalty area. The ball bounced and it wouldn’t have made a difference where the ball went.”

“That wasn’t clear and obvious. This wasn’t a massive mistake.”

Team news:

  • West Ham replaced goalkeepers Alphonse Areola and Jean-Clair Todibo with Lukasz Fabianski and Konstantinos Mavropanos. Edson Alvarez and Carlos Soler also came on for the suspended Mohammed Kudus and put Tomas Soucek on the bench.
  • Man Utd made three changes compared to Thursday: Bruno Fernandes moved back to number 10 and Noussair Mazraoui moved to left-back. Diogo Dalot moved in at right-back in place of Victor Lindelof and Casemiro and Rasmus Hojlund started. Manuel Ugarte and Joshua Zirkzee sat on the bench.

Lopetegui: We were the better team in the second half

West Ham transformed at half-time with a triple substitution as Lucas Paqueta, Konstantinos Mavropanos and Carlos Soler were swapped for Summerville, Jean-Clair Todibo and Tomas Soucek.

They could have taken the lead before Summerville hit the post after an Ings miss when Emerson missed a shot from Michail Antonio's cutback. And coach Lopetegui was encouraged by the second-half performance after an at-times chaotic defensive performance before half-time.

“They were better in the first half. We changed in the second half and we deserved to win the second half. It's true, they had chances and that's why we changed a lot. I think we were better than them in the second half.”

“In the second half I would like to highlight the commitment, energy, mentality and support of our fans. When they equalized, we didn't go down and were able to beat one of the best teams in the world. “We're happy and excited.”

Ten Hag's biggest problem is on display again

Peter Smith from Sky Sports:

Erik ten Hag said there were “six or seven 100 percent chances that we should have scored.” Opta ensured five clear openings. But whatever the numbers, this was another game where Man Utd suffered a loss as a result of the poor result.

The late penalty is rightly debated, but Man Utd should be out of sight at this point. They could have been 4-0 up against West Ham at half-time. Diogo Dalot hit the miss of the decade, Alejandro Garnacho hit the crossbar and wasted another good chance after cutting inside from the left, while Bruno Fernandes' dry spell continued after he headed Casemiro's fine pass over the bar.

“Luck is definitely not on our side at this moment,” added Ten Hag, after a play that also saw West Ham’s Edson Alvarez head against the frame of his own goal.

But United's finishing problem is more than just a matter of luck. The topic is too big for that. Only Crystal Palace and Southampton (six) have scored fewer goals in the Premier League than United have scored a total of eight this season. They have the biggest difference between expected goals and goals scored in the competition, with statistics suggesting they should have scored six or seven more than they did.

It's all about composure in the final third and precision in the crucial moment. That's what United are missing at the moment and it's costing them as much as any controversial refereeing decision.

Dalot's incredible failure

A ball over the top from Fernandes resulted in Dalot running behind the West Ham defense. He fired the ball past Fabianski and seemed sure he would score from the corner of the six-yard box – but somehow he fired his shot over the goal.

There was no offside flag and play continued with a goal kick. Nothing could save Dalot's blush.

Diogo Dalot shoots his shot over the crossbar
Picture:
Diogo Dalot shoots his shot over the crossbar

Sky Sports News' Paul Gilmour at the London Stadium:

“Wow. The whole stadium was preparing for the goal to go into the net, but instead they are laughing at the home game.”

“Dalot did the hard part but somehow missed an open goal.”

“He didn’t wait long enough for the ball to come down and threw it up with the goal open.”

Diogo Dalot shoots his shot over the crossbar
Picture:
Diogo Dalot shoots his shot over the crossbar

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