The forward arrived at the back post to hammer home Christian Eriksen’s delightful cross, giving Erik ten Hag’s side a well-earned lead at the break.
West Ham responded well in the second half, and had chances through Jarrod Bowen, Michail Antonio and Declan Rice, but United’s defence – and some remarkable saves from David De Gea – ensured the Reds took all three points from the match.
The win also caps off an impressive October for Ten Hag’s side, both domestically and in Europe, with Thursday’s important UEL trip to Real Sociedad still waiting. Both teams had half-chances in the first half, with Said Benrahma’s effort blocked by Lisandro Martinez and Rashford miskicking Diogo Dalot’s low cross wide of the goal.
Just minutes later, Eriksen sent a pinpoint long pass to Anthony Elanga, but the winger dragged his effort wide under pressure from Kurt Zouma. Rashford, who has 99 goals for Manchester United, went close again, first having an effort deflected over the crossbar by Thilo Kehrer, before Lukasz Fabianski got down well to deny our no.10’s header.
Despite dominating possession in the early stages, West Ham grew in confidence as the first half progressed, with Benrahma in particular looking dangerous on the break. Bowen, who was a fitness doubt before the game, had the visitors’ first big chance of the game when Thilo Kehrer found him inside the box after the right-back skipped past two Manchester United defenders, but De Gea reacted quickly to repel the attacker’s effort.The linesman flagged Bowen for offside, but this was an early warning sign for the Reds.
Ten Hag’s team responded to West Ham’s increased confidence with a series of crosses from Luke Shaw, culminating in a chance for Elanga at the back post, which the winger snatched at. Eriksen and Rashford combined to provide a piece of quality just as the game needed it, with halftime approaching. The former superbly crossed from the right for the latter, and Marcus made no mistake in powering home his header, reaching the illustrious milestone of 100 goals for United.
Gianluca Scamacca fired powerfully goalwards for the visitors shortly after the restart, only for Martinez to valiantly throw himself in front of the striker’s effort.
After the break, Rashford appeared to be buoyed by his goal, cutting inside and fizzing a wicked effort that screamed narrowly wide of the West Ham goal. On the hour mark, Ronaldo looked to respond to more Hammers pressure, but the striker headed over from a cross before slicing a left-footed effort wide.
Following Antonio’s second-half introduction, the visitors looked to deliver dangerous crosses into the box in order to capitalise on the forward’s presence. However, Diogo Dalot was in the right place at the right time on several occasions to head clear and relieve pressure on United’s defence.
Martinez came to the rescue at the back post as the game approached its conclusion, getting in front to deny Craig Dawson when Rice’s dangerous free-kick looked very certain to find the West Ham defender in that goal-scoring position.
The visitors continued to apply pressure, and De Gea produced a stunning save to turn Kurt Zouma’s header around the post, just moments after diverting Antonio’s fierce strike over the bar.
In the last few minutes, the Hammers threw everything at United, with Bowen’s effort cleared by Dalot inside the box, before De Gea produced yet another stunning save to spring to his left and save Rice’s fierce drive, keeping the Reds in the game and securing all the crucial points to stay in the top four race.
