Said Benrahma’s shot eluded David De Gea in the first 30 minutes of the game, giving the hosts the lead. In the second half, two goals that were ruled offside against David Moyes’ team—one each for Michail Antonio and Thomas Soucek—were also conceded.
The loss keeps Erik ten Hag’s team in fourth position, just a point behind fifth-placed Liverpool, even though United still have a match left to play.
Even though the home team pushed forward right away, it took the Reds three minutes to create the first clear-cut opportunity. Teammate Eriksen assisted teammate Rashford with a driving run from within the United half, and his rebound ball to our no. 10 bobbled just in front of him. Rashford’s first-time effort as a result just missed the crossbar.
After a promising start, United continued to play well and had many opportunities to score after 15 minutes. Prior to Eriksen’s cushioned attempt going over Fabianski’s crossbar, Fernandes and Antony both flashed efforts narrowly wide of the post.
Rashford came the closest to give us the lead within the first 45 minutes of play. He picked up the ball on the left side, cut inside and fired a shot that almost caught West Ham’s custodian off guard, but the Mancunian was stopped by the outside of the post.
But as the half-hour mark drew near, it was the hosts—through Benrahma—who claimed the lead. The Algerian was surrounded by three of our defenders but still managed to aim his shot towards De Gea’s net. The ball slid agonisingly towards the back of the net to give the other team a goal despite our number one getting a hand to it.
The finest opportunity to tie the score fell to Antony as United chased the game. A corner is awarded as the Brazilian surged towards the goal and unleashed a fierce shot that took a slight deflection before pinging off the post.
De Gea stopped West Ham and Benrahma from scoring at the opposite end of the pitch by diving fast to deflect his attempt away from the net. Their number 22 sought to respond with a half-volley, but Victor Lindelof stopped him. Following the next block, the home team yelled for a handball, but the referee waved them away.
As the second half began, Ten Hag’s team had to pursue the game, but David Moyes’s team posed the greatest danger to score the game’s second goal.
Soon after the restart, the home team scored from a corner, with Antonio on hand to head the ball over the goal line. However, the Englishman was ruled to have fouled De Gea in the buildup, and the referee quickly stopped play to award a free kick.
The Irons continued to create opportunities for goals but United found it difficult to have much of an impact on the game. Rice was one of those who was there in the middle of things. When he drove to the byline and dragged the ball back into the area, he nearly turned provider, but none of his teammates could put the game away.
Fully focused on bouncing back ✊#MUFC || #MondayMotivation pic.twitter.com/q5D1NbfAKU
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) May 8, 2023
Then, for the second time that evening, a goal was disallowed for West Ham. This time, Lucas Paqueta’s whipped pass into the area was headed home by Soucek, who had strayed barely offside before.
Finally, as the game came to a close, United put significant pressure on the hosts’ goal, but Fabianski made a number of crucial saves. Rashford’s thunderous attempt, which was touched over the bar, was blocked by the first. After some great link-up play with our no. 10 on the outside of the area, second-half replacement Martial forced the second goal, but the keeper saved it.
Ten Hag’s players made a late rush, but we were unable to provide the crucial scoring opportunity to earn a point.
