3 Things We Learnt from Man Utd Vs West Ham
And then some more!
Pogba on the Wing.
It’s now common knowledge that Ole prefers the McFred duo for tougher games, like Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea. But the fact that he started them today, means that Ole considers West Ham to be a tougher game as well. Whether you call that pragmatic or cowardly is up to you.
Where’s the Midfield?
If you saw the opening goal, you know what I’m talking about. Maguire gets pulled out of position to mark his man. Fred comes in and gets outfoxed with the easiest of skills. And then McTominay leaves his marker to do Varane’s job. This isn’t reflected in just the goal though.
Ronaldo is at his Best.
Anticipation. Technique. Determination. Composure. That’s what Ronaldo has, and that’s exactly what he showed. The Anticipation to get onside at just the right moment. The technique for that flick. The determinations to get to the parry before the keeper. And the composure to slot it home. Also, what a beautiful cross from Bruno Fernandes.
Lingard’s return to West Ham.
He got a standing ovation from the fans. In return, he gave them stunned silence. What a strike from Jesse. Wrong footed Zouma and nestled it into the top corner. Perhaps Ole’s words ‘He’s a red through and through’ were correct after all.
Dave Saves.
David de Gea. Hadn’t saved a penalty since April of 2016. Conceded 40 consecutive penalties. But what a time to prevent it being 41. I’m probably biased here but that was never a penalty. VAR told the ref to have a look at the monitor because it felt like a ‘clear and obvious error’, but Martin Atkinson had other ideas. Nonetheless, justice was served by Man United’s number 1.
Antonio was Missed.
The man who recently broke the record for most goals for West Ham was without question missed. Having no real physical presence up front, West Ham relied on pace, and the ball’s in behind to open up United’s star-studded defence. It worked, but only in patches, and not what Moyes would have envisioned when he announced the starting line-up.
