Alejandro Garnacho bagged a brace and Rasmus Hojlund scored to steer Manchester United to a 3-0 win over West Ham United in the Premier League on Sunday, February 4.
Following the last-gasp 4-3 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers midweek, Erik ten Hag made just a single change, with Harry Maguire replacing Raphael Varane at Old Trafford. West Ham, meanwhile, made two switches from their 1-1 draw against Bournemouth. Kalvin Phillips and Dinos Mavropanos made way for Vladimir Coufal and Nayef Aguerd.
The first half was a close affair, with both teams having chances to take the lead. However, United held on and managed to take the lead through a brilliant effort from Hojlund in the 23rd minute. The Denmark international pounced on a poor clearance from Kurt Zouma and finished accurately to make it 1-0.
Manchester United began the second half brilliantly, doubling their advantage in the 49th minute through Alejandro Garnacho. The Argentinian’s shot deflected off Aguerd, wrong-footing Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham rued not being clinical enough as Garnacho put the game to bed in the 84th minute. He lost his balance while shooting after being set up by Scott McTominay but still managed to score, securing all three points for United.
The win saw Manchester United jump their opponents on the day, moving up to sixth place in the Premier League standings. Here are five hits and flops from the game.
#5. Hit – Diogo Dalot
Dalot produced a great performance on the night. The highlight was a fantastic last-ditch effort to deny Jarrod Bowen what looked like a certain goal in the 47th minute. Apart from that, the right-back dealt capably with Mohammad Kudus and looked decent going forward.
#4. Flop – Marcus Rashford
The winger struggled to get into the game for most periods. He finished the game with just two shots (none on target) and just five touches in West Ham‘s box for the full 90 minutes.
#3. Hit – Rasmus Hojlund
Hojlund netted his third Premier League goal for Manchester United this season with a splendid finish to open the scoring.
While he excelled in the UEFA Champions League, scoring five goals, he has taken his time to come good in the Premier League. However, the Dane has scored in three of his last three games in the competition.
#2. Flop – West Ham attack
It was a wasteful day out in front of the goal for the visitors, whose poor finishing took them out of the game despite creating good chances. They had 22 shots but managed just three on target as Manchester United won by being more clinical with their opportunities. The host had 5/12 attempts on target.
#1. Hit – Alejandro Garnacho
The teenager is going to establish himself as a key player for Erik ten Hag. Since being shifted to the right wing, he has been impressive, bagging four goals and one assist in his last five games.
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