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There was a time when Manchester United came to West Ham, Wayne Rooney took aim from 57 yards and scored. Many a comparison with the past can damn this United side but, a decade on, Diogo Dalot came to West Ham, took aim at an unguarded goal from eight yards and missed. Whether it was excruciating or merely amusing depends on your perspective, but it was costly, summing up Manchester United’s self-destructive streak.
They contrived to lose a game in which they had been absurdly, astonishingly dominant before the break. Dalot was the worst offender but not the only one. “I collected six or seven 100 percent chances we should have scored,” said Erik Ten Hag. “But in football the best team does not always win.” And United’s finest half of the season still led to a fourth defeat.
For Julen Lopetegui, it was a lifeline, much the best result of his inglorious reign. Shocking and shambolic for 45 minutes, West Ham nevertheless beat the other United. Reprieved by a host of first-half misses, they pilfered victory in the second. To compound Dalot’s difficulties, it was his immediate opponent, Crysencio Summerville, who scored one of the goals that may save the Hammers manager’s job. The other, Jarrod Bowen’s penalty, awarded via the intervention of VAR and against Matthijs de Ligt, leaves the other United 14th.
For the beleaguered Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, it was a reminder that it seems impossible to escape his version of purgatory, with a side that struggle to win, who can lose almost any game and miss almost any chance. A malaise extends beyond a right-back unaccustomed to finding himself the furthest man forward. Casemiro finally found the net for United, converting after first Dalot and then Joshua Zirkzee had headed the ball across the box, but only after a masterclass in how not to finish.
The moment that, sadly for Dalot, is destined to be replayed for years to come occurred after half an hour. Bruno Fernandes turned quarterback, spraying a long pass, and the right-back’s first touch took him past Lukasz Fabianski. With the goalkeeper stranded outside his box, the goal gaping, Dalot contrived to loft a shot over it. His has been a season of indignities, of awkward outings against Mohamed Salah and Brennan Johnson and even Tyler Dibling. This was a different kind of low.
And a dearth of goals may prove the death of Ten Hag. United have only outscored Crystal Palace and Southampton in the Premier League this season. They struck the woodwork twice before the break – once courtesy of Edson Alvarez’s misdirected header in his own box, but first from their own incision.
Alejandro Garnacho rattled the bar inside two minutes and shot just wide after eight, each when found by Fernandes, each when in far too much room. West Ham’s ploy of playing three defensive midfielders scarcely lent them solidity. They appeared incapable of tracking runners. Their offside trap malfunctioned. Aaron Wan-Bissaka repeatedly left his former teammate Garnacho unmarked, as though thinking the Argentinian had taken out a restraining order, preventing him from getting within 10 yards of the winger. Lopetegui’s team were stunningly bad but went on to win. If it was illogical, it also indicated the problems United’s failure to finish caused. “We have to score, we created so many chances,” lamented Ten Hag. “There were so many who missed.”
Fernandes was creative and classy, but his drought extended to 17 games as, unmarked, he headed over. Marcus Rashford went clear on goal but only managed to run into the recalled Fabianski. The 39-year-old made a superb save from Casemiro on the stroke of half-time. Garnacho looked the likeliest match-winner but then gave the ball away for West Ham’s opener. Bowen crossed, Ings, fresh off the bench, miscued a strike and Summerville evaded Dalot to slide in his shot. After Casemiro levelled came a contentious penalty. De Ligt’s challenge on Ings was scarcely a blatant foul. Bowen nevertheless scored. “That is definitely not a clear and obvious mistake from the on-field referee,” said Ten Hag. “It was unfair and unjust. Three times this season we feel injustice.” That, though, includes a complaint about Brentford’s entirely legitimate goal last week, but Fernandes’ red card against Tottenham still grates. “The VAR didn’t interfere with the red card of Bruno; that was a wrong decision and today again,” Ten Hag said.
But Lopetegui interfered, eventually successfully. “In the second half, we were better than them,” he said. He had rung the changes before kick-off: in goal, in the centre of defence, in the middle of midfield. He then made a triple substitution after an abhorrent first half. He got improvement, aided by the verve of Summerville. A later replacement, Ings, had an impact as well. A game of two halves was a match of three goals and an open goal. Dalot missed it and if the last dozen seasons have been a missed opportunity for Manchester United, this was one of the most embarrassing misses of all.
