Manchester United brushed aside West Ham United with a comfortable 3-0-win in the English Premier League at Old Trafford on Sunday to make it back-to-back wins in four days.
In-form birthday boy Rasmus Hojlund found the back of the net in the 23rd minute, to push his tally to nine goals in all competitions and 4 league goals in 5 games. His fellow teenage sensation Alejandro Garnacho secured all three points with goals in the 49th and 84th minute.
Manchester United were pegged back twice against Wolves mid-week and were doing all it took to protect their lead. West Ham pressed hard for the equalising goal, but were denied on a few occasions by Onana who was brilliant between the sticks. The half ended 1-0 in favour of United.
Harry Maguire’s early mistake at the start of the second half allowed Emerson to get by him with relative ease and was 6 yards out when he pulled the trigger, but his shot went high and wide.
The ruined chances came back to haunt the Hammers because less than a minute later, Garnacho doubled United’s lead.
Here are the player ratings from the weekend win:
Andre Onana (8/10):
Recently back from AFCON, Onana marched his way back into the starting lineup. He made 4 crucial saves, including an acrobatic reflex save in the first half when the ball was headed towards goal by Tomas Soucek and then deflected off Mohammed Kudus.
The West Ham manager held his head in disbelief as the ball was turned away eventually for a corner kick. Onana made 5 recoveries, 42 touches and a 76% pass rate.
Diogo Dalot (7/10):
Dalot was a beast in the defence, making 1 block, 1 interception and 5 recoveries. His insane block tackle which prevented Bowen from getting his name on the score sheet was one of the many high points in his game. Dalot has only missed two games through suspension all season - scoring 1 goal and 1 assist, he is growing in that right back position.
Harry Maguire (5/10):
Despite making two crucial mistakes that could have cost United two goals, Maguire was rock solid in defence with Martinez.
He gave away a ball on the right side of the field with little coverage but Emerson’s faulty shooting allowed Maguire to dodge the bullet. He was twice lucky this time. He allowed Bowen to sneak in behind him for a chance that Dalot had to tidy up for his error.
Lisandro Martinez (8/10):
Manchester United number 1 centre-back. A player who plays with an abundance of equanimity while building from the back which suits the Erik Ten Hag system and the modern-day football culture. His aggression and awareness make him very hard to outfox or to beat.
In only his second game since returning from injuries, he made 3 vital blocks, six last ditch clearances and six recoveries. It was a worrying sign to see him go off with a knee problem, which will keep him out for 8 weeks.
Luke Shaw (7/10):
Luke Shaw demonstrated why he has 31 caps for England and 3 goals and is making himself available for selection in the upcoming Nation League games. He made his presence felt well against Johnson, particularly in the first half and he is a serious threat going forward offering some dynamics in the offensive third.
Casemiro (7/10):
Casemiro has been pivotal to Manchester United midfield since his return. They scored 7 goals and conceded 3 over the two games he played. He can sense danger and gets himself in the right position to break up plays and to restart the game quickly.
His die-hearted spirit allowed him to win that ball and set United on the front foot to make the first-half goal possible. He can score and he can thread a pass too. In ten games he has scored 1 and assisted 1.
Kobbie Mainoo (7/10):
Despite coming off in the 64th minute, Mainoo continues to look completely at home at this level. Since making his senior debut in a 3-1 win over Reading as a substitute, the Stockport-born midfielder rarely put a foot wrong. A diamond in the rough has paired nicely with Casemiro a man with a ton load of experience and a man who has won literally everything in club football. This argues well for the young lad who can only get better.
Alejandro Garnacho (8/10):
At age 19 with 67 appearances and 12 goals, Garnacho has become a key piece of Erik Ten Hag’s attacking armoury. Two of those 12 goals came in the victory over West Ham game, which helped secure a crucial three points for the Red Devils. His fearlessness when taking on defenders and his ability to score has proven to be a menace to the opposition. He has gained the trust of his manager who has played him 21 times out of 23 games thus far. His willingness to go forward and back in quick succession will cause a lot of problems for teams in the league.
Bruno Fernandes (8/10):
Finally, the team is scoring more fluidly, much to the delight of Captain Bruno, who has created 62 chances so far this season. With back-to-back assist in his last two games the Portuguese is playing with more flair and guile. He should have scored much more than 3 goals and had more than 5 assists, irrespective of the number of chances he has created. He is very influential and is at the pivot of creating chances through the middle down the flank or on the half turn over the top.
Marcus Rashford (5/10):
He was a little unfortunate not to be on the score board, after a ball fell kindly in his path and the gaping goal in front of him, the Manchester United academy player miscued the shot which flew in the stands. After scoring a blinder in mid-week, hours after serving suspension for misconduct fans were expecting another superb performance from Rashford who has 5 goals from 22 appearances this season. Far from his best, but his presence alone drives fear in his opponents, and he can be a nightmare for defenders on any given night.
Rasmus Højlund (7/10):
The Dane has waited well over 16 and a half hours to break his Premier League goal in a 3-2 win over Aston Villa and is now like a well-oiled goal scoring machine. He is now the youngest player since Dele Alli in 2017 to score in four successive appearances in the competition.
Subs:
Victor Lindelof & Antony: (N/A)
Raphael Varane (6/10):
The Frenchman came on in the unfortunate circumstances around Martinez’s injury, but deputised well enough to see out the game. He is expected to start in the LCB role once more for the next few weeks in light of the injury lay-off sustained to the Argentinian.
Scott McTominay (6/10):
Came on for Mainoo around the hour mark and did well following on from this heroics mid-week.