No doubt Manchester United players’ mentality is sky-high after overturning a halftime deficit to beat West Ham in a 3-1 victory at The London Stadium, a difficult feat with rival fans gunning for United’s defeat.
Here are the five things we have learnt from yesterday’s game.
WEST HAM VS MANCHESTER UNITED – 5 THINGS WE LEARNT
1. Another come-back win. Is it healthy?
A welcoming sight seeing United victorious, yet quite worrying that we have to concede first to get our game faces on, a sentiment shared by Rashford in his post-match interview.
“We need to stop doing that. If we get more clean sheets, we will win more games. It is good we showed the spirit to come back when we concede a goal, but ideally, we don’t want to be conceding.”
2. Telles should work on his defensive attributes
Brought in to provide competition in the left-back position, Telles has surpassed all expectations with his attacking gameplay, something admirable, but with Shaw’s imminent return, he should work to improve his defensive skills if he wishes to keep his spot in the starting eleven.
His forward runs in yesterday’s game led to him leaving spaces behind, which the West Ham wingbacks quickly took advantage of.
3. Over-reliance on Bruno
Bruno Fernandes completely changed the game when he was brought in to replace Donny Van de Beek, creating eight chances, the most ever after only 45 mins of play.
The drop in form when the Portuguese international is not playing is worrying. Bruno is bound to pick an injury if he continues to play three times a week. The question is, how will United fair without him?
4. Hot and Cold Paul Pogba
Pogba should strive to keep it precise and play first time passes if he hopes to keep his place long-term, behind Bruno. He lost possession 13 times in the first half and dominated by the industrious Declan Rice. The outstanding goal papered the cracks in his performance last night.
5. Early substitutions
Ole’s appropriate and early substitutions were vital in winning the game, a massive improvement from the last game. Rashford brought to make the runs in behind the opposition defence and managed to score a goal. On the other hand, Bruno brought the creativity lacking in the first half, and finally, Mata filthily assisted Rashford for United’s third goal of the night, completing the come-back.
