“Leave my team if you can’t pick up form like Mainoo” – £45m Man united star has told Erik Ten Hag he’s tired with his stay at Old Trafford – Not Fernandez
After an important 0-0 draw at Anfield last weekend, Manchester United had the opportunity to kickstart their season today against West Ham. However, Erik ten Hag’s side suffered a 2-0 defeat at the hands of their former boss, David Moyes.
The first half saw very little goalmouth action, and it seemed as though the game would conclude at 0-0 after 90 minutes of dull football until Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring in the 72nd minute after latching onto a lovely outside-of-the-foot dink from Lucas Paqueta.
The Brazilian then registered his fifth assist in two Premier League games six minutes later, as ex-Ajax star Mohammed Kudus slotted home with his right foot. That goal sealed United’s position in eighth and their eighth loss in 18 top-flight matches this term.
Man Utd’s stats vs West Ham
Andre Onana had a relatively quiet first 45 minutes as his side dominated the ball, tallying up 62% of possession. In truth, the first half had very little quality on display, which made the game quite scrappy at times. Ten Hag’s side had six attempts at goal and accumulated 0.61 xG, according to Sofascore.
Both sides showed very little in the final third, but the Red Devils looked the most likely to open the scoring. Antony was United’s most creative outlet, and he often drifted inside to pick up the ball and force combinations. The Brazilian created the best chance of the half, playing Alejandro Garnacho through on goal, but the Argentine was unable to sort his feet out and unleashed a weak strike straight at the ‘keeper. The No 21 also fired a low cross with his right foot that Rasmus Hojlund should have been on the end of.
The Hammers sat in a low block and attempted to catch United out on the break throughout, and in the second half, they only had 31% possession. The game was fairly balanced, and it was a copy of the first half, with the visitors passing the ball around with little urgency. Yet, what will concern United fans the most is their team’s reaction to going behind. They registered three shots after suffering the second and only registered 0.3 xG after the break. In short, United looked lost in the final third.
Alejandro Garnacho’s game in numbers
Ever since Marcus Rashford’s form took a hit, Garnacho has been Ten Hag’s first choice at left wing. However, today’s showing was one to forget for the youngster and the rest of his teammates.
Despite constantly showing enthusiasm, the 19-year-old struggled to overcome the physicality of Vladimir Coufal and Konstantinos Mavropanos. The Argentine won just three of his 12 duels all game, which is expected due to his lightweight build and age. However, he was also wasteful in key areas, giving away possession 15 times.
Furthermore, his big moment in the game unfortunately ended in frustration, as he squandered a golden opportunity to put United 1-0 up in the first half, which may have changed the following events. The table below sums up Garnacho’s performance:
Overall, it is difficult to point the finger at individuals after such an embarrassing team showing, but Garnacho will only learn and improve from his performance as he is such a talented prospect.
