Manchester United were looking to return to winning ways against West Ham, following the Premier League draw against Chelsea.
Erik ten Hag fielded a much-changed starting XI from the match against Chelsea, with Cristiano Ronaldo, Harry Maguire and Anthony Elanga coming on for Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane and Antony, respectively.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s hard-fought win against West Ham.
encouraging first half
United were unquestionably the better team in the opening 45 minutes against a defensively stubborn and resilient West Ham.
The Red Devils managed a healthy 55% ball possession and nine shots on goal, three of them on target.
United did well both on and off the ball and were relatively comfortable with the exception of one or two transition moments that were quickly swept over the baseline.
Ten Hag’s men created several chances, and on another day they could have scored more than one goal heading into the break.
The deadlock was broken just seven minutes before half-time when Marcus Rashford soared higher, overcoming a fabulous cross from Christian Eriksen to fire the ball into the back of the West Ham net.
The goal was significant for Rashford as it was his hundredth goal for his boyhood club. A remarkable achievement for the Englishman who has been in exquisite form this campaign.
100 GOALS BY OUR VERY OWN, MARCUS RASHFORD. ????
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— central devils. (@centredevils) October 30, 2022
The striker, who turns 25 tomorrow, came close on several other occasions, but Eriksen’s cross did not fail to give United a foothold in the game.
Against a physical and aggressive Hammers team, Ten Hag and certainly his supporters would have been pleased with the first half.
United seriously lack quality squad depth/options
Most fans will agree that going into the season, United were extremely skinny and lacking in most departments on the pitch.
However, West Ham’s clash tonight made it more apparent and apparent. In the absence of a select core of regular starters, the drop in quality was huge.
Elanga, coming in for the injured Antony, had little impact and it was no surprise that he was the first out.
Maguire, who Ten Hag confirmed before the game was only around as a result of Victor Lindelof’s illness, failed to inspire confidence in his first start since returning from injury.
Ronaldo, like Elanga, was almost non-existent and was an idle passenger for most of the contest. On the bench, Ten Hag did not have a central defender and was limited to Jadon Sancho and Alejandro Garnacho as offensive alternatives.
As talented as Garnacho is, he is still young and it is understandable why the coach would keep him away from such a risky business.
The lack of quality options is a big problem that the club must face in both the January and summer transfer markets.
The lack of depth is a major hurdle for Ten Hag, who has had to make do with makeshift and quick fixes, such as putting Fernandes, naturally a midfielder, in the forehand position.
Diogo Dalot and Lisandro MartÃnez solid defensively
In the second half, United were a long way from their most dominant first half as David Moyes’s players stepped up the pressure in search of an equaliser.
The Reds were more than tested by the London club, who engineered numerous chances in their quest for a share of the points.
United fans have Lisandro Martinez and Diogo Dalot to thank for the team’s defensive masterclass.
The duo concocted dozens of heroic tackles, blocks and interceptions to ensure the team came away with all three points.
Another was David de Gea who was called into action and responded appropriately.
Dalot and MartÃnez in their energetic defensive performance were undoubtedly the most outstanding players of the United night. They will get a large part of the applause and rightly so.
