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West Ham 2 Man United 1 – The horror of Dalot misses, the penalty drama and is Ten Hag’s time up?

West Ham 2 Man United 1 – The horror of Dalot misses, the penalty drama and is Ten Hag’s time up?

Sakege014 mins

manchester united lost for West Ham United in dramatic circumstances at the London Stadium on Sunday to leave them 14th in the first division.

The pressure will increase on Erik ten Hag after another poor result following a series of missed opportunities, with the worst of them all Diogo Dalot somehow put the ball over the crossbar from eight meters with the goal open.

Crysencio Summerville put West Ham ahead with 25 minutes remaining casemiro He scored the equalizer for the visitors in the 81st minute.

Then, in the 88th minute, Matthijs de Ligt brought Danny Ings inside the area and, after a long VAR check, the home team received a penalty. Jarrod Bowen He converted from the penalty spot to condemn United to their fourth defeat in their first nine league games.

Here, The AthleticLaurie Whitwell breaks down the match’s key talking points.

What does defeat mean for Ten Hag?

Manchester United were much better than West Ham, but this result only increases the pressure on Erik ten Hag, even though he arrived with great misfortune.

Ten Hag will rightly complain bitterly about the penalty awarded to West Ham that inflicted defeat on his team, but his players also missed several chances, enough to easily win the match.

However, United are 14th in the Premier League, having scored just eight goals in nine games, and that is clearly not good enough and gives the hierarchy at Old Trafford plenty of cause for pause.


Ten Hag on the touchline at the London Stadium (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The last time United scored fewer than nine goals after nine games in a league campaign was in 1973-74 (also eight). The club was relegated at the end of that season.

How the hell did Dalot miss that?

Even Diogo Dalot, one of the most positive and committed members of the Ten Hag team, will surely not want to look back on his attempt to finish in the 32nd minute. It will be remembered as one of the failures of the season.

He had done many things well. Playing at right back again after being switched there for the visit of Brentford last week in the absence of Noussair Mazraoui, his runs forward through the center were once again a deliberate strategy by Ten Hag.

Against Brentford, that move created a chance when Andre Onana played a direct pass over the top and it was the same against West Ham when Dalot sensed an opportunity to advance as the ball rolled towards Bruno Fernandes in midfield.

Fernandes saw Dalot’s timely run and made a first aerial pass. Lukasz Fabianski rushed in to intercept, but Dalot got the first and his touch around the West Ham goalkeeper set up what appeared to be a simple shot into an unprotected net.


Dalot passes the ball to Fabianski (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

The ball bounced and two West Ham defenders struggled to recover, but Dalot rightly took his time. But when the final touch came, he clipped the ball wide.

Dalot fell to his knees while Rasmus Hojlund looked horrified and Alejandro Garnacho pulled his shirt up to his chin in frustration. There was a cry of astonishment inside the London stadium, which subsided as West Ham fans began to revel in Dalot’s mistake.


A stunned Dalot after his ruling (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

United continue to fight in front of goal

Dalot’s chance was the most obvious one that went wrong for United at West Ham, but there were several other players who should have opened the scoring for Ten Hag’s side in the first half.

United went into the break with an expected goals (xG) figure of 1.48, compared to West Ham’s 0.04, after taking eight shots. Before the match, they already had the biggest gap between xG and goals scored in the top flight; the gap has now only widened.

They also failed to score on four big chances, meaning they have squandered 22 in total this season. No team has missed it more.

Garnacho had two very good chances in the first 10 minutes. The first, from a square ball from Fernandes after Christian Eriksen had taken advantage of a loose West Ham pass following pressure from United, saw it hit the crossbar. In the second, after receiving a pass from Fernandes on the wing after good exchanges, he failed completely.

Hojlund did not take advantage of his opportunity in the area when a low cross from Garnacho arrived. The opening came after more teamwork and Hojlund twisted smartly to shoot, but Fabianski blocked.

Shortly after, Eriksen and Dalot passed the ball to Casemiro, who crossed first to Fernandes, who was unmarked eight meters away. But he sent his header.

In the 20th minute, Mark Rashford He crossed the goal, but did not even manage to shoot after failing to take the ball in his run.

United twice came close to taking the lead from set pieces after Dalot’s miss. Edson Álvarez headed his own crossbar from a corner kick by Eriksen and, just before half-time, the Dane launched another dangerous ball, this time from a free kick, which Casemiro finished off towards the far post.

First-team coach Darren Fletcher, who watches games from the stands with analysts, headed to the locker room and raised his arms in celebration, only for Fabianski to extend a glove for a super save.

Hojlund got another good save from Fabianski in the second half, but it wasn’t until the 81st minute, when West Ham had taken the lead, that United finally scored with a Casemiro header.

VAR drama in added time

The awarding of a penalty to West Ham that decided this match left United furious. Michael Oliver, acting as VAR, intervened when De Ligt and Ings came together in the area.

I believed there was enough contact between the legs to commit a foul. Referee David Coote decided that no infringement had been committed in real time, but Oliver ordered him to the touchline screen and, inevitably, the referee pointed to the spot.

In the stands, Fletcher was furious: “One week is a high threshold, next week isn’t, you fucking joke.”

His sentiments were echoed by Ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who appealed in vain to fourth official Thomas Bramall. De Ligt and his teammates also pointed out that the ball had hit Ings’s hand when the giant screens at the London stadium showed the replay.

However, the call stood and Bowen passed the ball past Onana to condemn Ten Hag and his team to a damaging defeat.


Ten Hag protests as late penalty is awarded (Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

What did Erik ten Hag say?

In the post-match press conference, United manager Ten Hag said: “(In) football, the best team doesn’t always win. Today it was clear and evident (that it was not a penalty), but the VAR did not work like that.

“Before the season they explained the process to me and that only when it is clear and obvious (the mistake) is when they would intervene. I don’t criticize anyone, I criticize the process but, of course, there are people who direct it.

“The other impact is that we didn’t score, we created a lot of opportunities. The first half is exactly how I want my team to play. “We should have scored, but overall I didn’t have that much criticism of my team.”

When asked about the mood at the club, the Dutchman replied: “Mixed feelings. What we always do is look in the mirror and see what we did wrong. (Today) the only thing I can criticize the players is that they waste opportunities. “The referee’s decision had a big impact on the score.”

What’s next for Manchester United?

Wednesday, October 30: city ​​of leicester (H), Carabao Cup Round of 16, 7:45pm UK, 3:45pm ET

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(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images))

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