wicked.football

Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer answered his midweek critics with two super-substitutes in the 2-1 win over West Ham.

Man Utd dominated the first half, but it was the Hammers who scored first. Said Benrahma’s strike got a major deflection off Raphael Varane and beat David de Gea.

However, Cristiano Ronaldo – who had been quiet before then – grew into the game and equalised for the visitors.

In the second half, two substitutes combined to hand United a winner. Nemanja Matic’s brilliant pass set up Jesse Lingard, who curled home a stunner. Solskjaer faced criticism for his substitutes in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat to Young Boys.

But that was not the end of the action. Mark Noble – also on from the bench for West Ham – had a penalty saved by De Gea deep into stoppage time.

West Ham

Lukasz Fabianski: Had a quiet start to the game, but grew into it with important saves. Denied two efforts from Ronaldo and more from Bruno Fernandes and Luke Shaw, but spilled Ronaldo’s flick for his goal. Saved a Ronaldo shot immediately after the break. 6/10.

Vladimir Coufal: Conceded a corner amid a misunderstanding early on, but was subsequently impressive up and down the pitch. Floated a decent cross into the box for Jarrod Bowen before impressive interplay for Benrahma’s goal. Made further contributions in the second half. 5/10.

Kurt Zouma: Fantastic first half. Cleared a cross, headed a corner away and thwarted Ronaldo on two occasions, including a forceful tackle in his penalty area. That continued after the break, with another clearance to deny Ronaldo and a defensive clearance late on. 8/10.

Angelo Ogbonna: In the first half, made a good tackle to deny Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right, followed by a clearance ahead of an incoming Mason Greenwood. 6/10.

Aaron Cresswell: Fairly quiet opening 45 minutes. Headed a Fernandes cross away and set Nikola Vlasic up towards the end, but needed to be stronger to challenge Ronaldo for his goal. That trend continued, the full-back giving the ball away early on in the second half. 4/10.

Tomas Soucek: Some nice touches and passes in the first period, apart from giving the ball to Shaw early on. Improved with a few nice passes in the second half. 5/10.

Declan Rice: Like Soucek, effective in helping West Ham sit in and absorb some Man Utd pressure in the first half. Enjoyed more attacking contributions in the second half, including a run similar to the one for his goal against Dinamo Zagreb. 6/10.

Jarrod Bowen: Caused Man Utd problems throughout the first half. His shot was saved by De Gea and he got the assist for Benrahma’s strike. Continued to pose a threat in the second half. 7/10.

Said Benrahma: Proved a menace for his opponents, especially when he forced Harry Maguire into an error on his byline. Good shot for his goal, but the deflection helped massively. His poor pass immediately after the break let Ronaldo in, but he did well to stop Ronaldo amid a penalty shout in the second half. 6/10.

Pablo Fornals: Gave away two cheap fouls in the first 20 minutes on Shaw and Ronaldo. However, he made up for those with neat flick-ons and a crucial role in the build-up Benhrama’s opener. In the second half, an effort from him was just wide. 6/10.

Nikola Vlasic: West Ham’s quietest player in the first half, with his biggest impact coming in the 43rd minute. However, his first-time shot was just over from Cresswell’s cross. Enjoyed some good interplay and passing before he came off. 4/10.

Substitutes:

Andriy Yarmolenko (on for Vlasic, 68): Played some neat touches in and around the Man Utd box and looked more of a threat straight away than Vlasic. Indeed, it was his cross that forced the late handball shout on Shaw for the penalty. 6/10.

Manuel Lanzini (on for Benrahma, 88): Helped West Ham push for an equaliser late on. 4/10.

Mark Noble (on for Bowen, 90+4): Came on in the dying seconds with one job – to score the equaliser from the penalty spot. However, it was well-saved by De Gea. 2/10.

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Man Utd

David de Gea: Quiet in the first half, but did what he had to do. Rolled out one of his trademark saves with his feet to deny Bowen, but there was nothing he could do for Benrahma’s goal. He made up for that in the second half, diving to his left to beat away Noble’s penalty. 9/10.

Aaron Wan-Bissaka: Some important defensive contributions as always, but – compared to Shaw – put very few crosses in in the first half. He tended to play the safe pass backwards rather than trying to find someone in the box. Made some more defensive tackles in the second half. 6/10.

Raphael Varane: One of Man Utd’s busiest players in the opening 45. Blocked Bowen’s shot which was goal-bound, before unfortunately getting the deflection from Benrahma. He played his part in soaking up West Ham pressure in the second half. 7/10.

Harry Maguire: Forced into an error deep in his own half, but recovered to beat Bowen to a neat pass through the lines in the first half. Had headers wide of the goal and to clear West Ham pressure after the break. 6/10.

Luke Shaw: Impressive going forward with several corners and combinations with his team-mates. However, the ball hit his outstretched arm, which was ruled to be in an unnatural position, for the penalty late on. 4/10.

Scott McTominay: Had an early headed effort go over from a corner, but was then sloppy with two misplaced passes. 5/10.

Fred: A few simple touches throughout the first half. In the second half, he was fairly quiet. 5/10.

Mason Greenwood: Struggled to make an impact in the first 45 and often dropped deep, playing passes through the midfield lines. Didn’t improve too much in the second half and not his most potent attacking display. 5/10.

Bruno Fernandes: Some early combinations with Shaw and Greenwood went astray, but his cross for Ronaldo’s goal was inch-perfect and he had a good shot saved by Fabianski. Strived to put Man Utd into a second-half lead, but his low shot was an easy save for Fabianski. 7/10.

Paul Pogba: Had some nice moments in the first half, spraying passes to the left and right. 5/10.

Cristiano Ronaldo: Looked initially like he would continue to be thwarted by Zouma, but he soon grew into the contest. Two failed shots were followed by his goal, where he reacted fast to pounce upon Fabianski’s spill. However, Zouma did well to beat him to the ball after the break. Looked visibly frustrated at having two penalty shouts dismissed. 7/10.

Substitutes:

Jadon Sancho (on for Greenwood, 73): Tried to stamp his mark with a few decent crosses after coming on. 4/10.

Jesse Lingard (on for Pogba, 73): Scored the all-important winner, weaving through the West Ham defence and curling the ball into the top-right corner. 10/10.

Nemanja Matic (on for Fred, 88): He may have come on to protect a draw for United, but he ended up playing a fizzed pass into Lingard in space. That allowed the midfielder time to turn, run and get a shot away. 9/10.

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