Manchester United lost to West Ham after a tough battle that knocked them out of the Carabao Cup competition. The match picked up pace after a 9th-minute goal by the West Ham winger Manuel Lanzini. United then took a lot of shots on target but unfortunately, none of them made it past the West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
First Half:
The Red Devils started with a heavily rotated side from their Premier League from their 2-1 victory over West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday. Cristiano Ronaldo, David De Gea Paul Pogba and Raphael Varane were among the many names left out following a busy run of matches. Meanwhile, Bruno Fernandes started the match on the bench. Diogo Dalot got his first start at Old Trafford since 2019. West Ham started better than their rivals as Manuel Lanzini scored a goal in the 9th minute. Ryan Fredricks eased between Jadon Sancho and Alex Telles before cutting a low cross back to the Argentine, who finished into the bottom corner. The only positives from the first half were Matic and van de Beek.
Matic was great as he defended the midfield well, gave great passes and connected well with the players. Donny van de Beek on the other hand was immense. The Dutchman commanded the midfield as he made important tackles, kept a great ball retention record and made runs into the box. Eric Bailey made 2 important tackles in the first half as well.
Second Half:
The second half, however, saw a great loss of energy and accuracy from the home team. The Red Devils, despite making a total of 27 shots weren’t able to get past Alphonse Areola while The Hammers made a total of 9 shots and even managed to score in one of them. There were clear chances but Anthony Martial wasn’t able to score even one of them. There might be a chance that this was the last game where Anthony Martial starts as Cavani is returning to fitness.
Despite a bad performance from the whole team, Donny van de Beek had a great game. The midfielder was present everywhere on the pitch, be it in the box or in the defence and even commanded other players as they played. West Ham could have put the tie to bed in the final moments as United threw men forward in search of an equaliser. However, they missed many chances. First, winger Andriy Yarmolenko missed an open goal, hitting the post with a left-footed shot. Minutes later, Mark Noble missed a one-on-one chance, providing some hope for United before the final whistle signalled the end of their Carabao Cup journey.
Conclusion:
With the exit from the Carabao Cup, Manchester United must focus on their UCL matches and the Premier League. Apart from that, ball retention must be practised in the attacking position to create chances and score. Hopefully, Manchester United may win silverware this season.
(Manchester United are set to play against Aston Villa on Saturday, 25 September.)
