Man Utd were knocked out of the League Cup on Wednesday night at Old Trafford. An early West Ham goal from Manuel Lanzini was all the Hammers needed for the 1-0 victory.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer rotated the squad heavily as was expected for the League Cup. Man Utd won at the weekend versus West Ham in the league.
First Half
A frantic pace from both sides got the game underway. West Ham put Man Utd under pressure early and got the goal for it in the 9th minute. Ryan Fredericks ran past Alex Telles to set up Manuel Lanzini to open up the scoring. Telles looked off the pace early and was lucky that Fredericks had to be subbed off with injury.
Man Utd had a penalty shout a couple minutes later when Jesse Lingard was pulled down by Mark Noble in the box, it was slick from Noble and out of the refs view. Juan Mata was unlucky not to score in the 12th minute when his shot from an acute angle rocketed off the crossbar.
The match would settle down and West Ham was content to play tight defense and try to counter. Man Utd had a couple of decent half chances, but could not really trouble Alphonse Areola. West Ham would go into the locker room with a 1-0 advantage.
Second Half
An overall frustrating half if you are a Man Utd fan. A good pass by Mata set up a decent half chance for Jadon Sancho to open up the second half.
Mason Greenwood was subbed on for Mata who almost made an immediate impact when he was played in by Donny van de Beek. Greenwood’s first touch was brilliant, but the shot was saved by Areola with his feet.
The game really opened up with the introduction of Greenwood. Bruno and Anthony Elanga’s introduction also helped the game become end-to-end in the final parts of the match as Man Utd went for the leveler.
It was West Ham who had the better chances late on in the game and should have put Man Utd to bed, but Dean Henderson pulled off some great saves to keep his team in the match.
Man Utd could not beat Areola nor breakdown the West Ham defense.
Man Utd Player Ratings
It was an overall poor performance for Man Utd, understandable with all the changes. No man of the match, no one really stuck out and it is sometimes unnecessary to give a best player on a losing side with no goals.
GK- Dean Henderson: 6, Could not do much for Lanzini’s goal. Lanzini was unmarked and is a decent finisher. Typical Dean Henderson performance. Pulled off some really good saves in the final moments of the match to keep his team in the match.
LB- Alex Telles: 4, Looked off the pace tonight, just getting back from an injury. Should not be getting beat for pace against Yarmolenko, Fredericks is understandable. Probably should have fouled Fredericks before he got in the box. Usually has good service on the left, but was lacking a target man for his crosses.
CB- Victor Lindelof: 6, Both center backs had little to do for much of the game after the goal. Both had to break up counters when called up on and did. The game was extremely open towards the end and both were left on an island.
CB- Eric Bailly: See Lindelof
RB- Diogo Dalot: 5.5, Isolated at times on the right because Lingard was so far inside in the first half. Had a good shot early in the second half that was off target. No attacking threats by West Ham on the left gave Dalot plenty of space, but he could not deliver anything solid offensively.
CM- Nemanja Matic: 5.5, A solid performance from the veteran midfielder. Had a good run in the first half that should have been taken by Martial. Disappeared in the second half as well.
CM- Donny van de Beek: 6, Linked up play well and had some good skill on the ball. Does not look confident shooting, could have put his shots on target. Combines well with Matic, but hardly anybody else. Not all his fault, Lingard should have combined with him more often and his teammates were stagnant when he had the ball.
A beautiful pass by DVB found Greenwood, but the young strikers shot was saved by Areola.
CAM- Juan Mata: 5.5, Great shot from a crazy angle hit the crossbar. Had some good passes and moments, but the legs are not there anymore. Took up space and rarely mad any good runs. Decent performance, justified substitution. Probably should not have started.
RM/CAM- Jesse Lingard: 5.5, Started on the right, but moved centrally in the second half. Looked lively and forced a couple of decent saves out of Areola. Missing that final pass, Lingard often chose his own run instead of playing in a teammate.
LM- Jadon Sancho: 6, Had his best match in a Man Utd in jersey. Looked good on the ball, passed it well and had some decent moments attacking. Destroyed Noble with a turn that got the West Ham captain booked. Could have done more like most players on the field.
ST- Anthony Martial: 5.5, Looks like he is getting fitter. Had some good turns around the box, probably should have forced better saves out of Areola. Some bad hold up play in the center of the field in the first half, almost led to some counters for West Ham. Disappeared in the second half.
SUBS
Mason Greenwood: 6, Almost made an immediate impact, but could have finished better with his chance. Always looked to take people on when he had the ball. Needed more time, probably should have started.
Bruno and Elanga: NR, Elanga had some good runs on the left when subbed. Should have done more in defense when he came on. Bruno has the quality to impact the game, but did not have the time.
Ole: Justified with the rotation in the squad. Should have started Greenwood.
