This joyful Manchester United victory was graced by a blistering Rasmus Højlund strike and the comical celebration of Alejandro Garnacho’s first goal as he, Højlund and Kobbie Mainoo sat atop a Stretford End advertising hoarding.
It was that type of afternoon for Erik ten Hag’s work in progress. On his 21st birthday, Højlund greeted his finish with a hopping air-guitar mime and a raucous cheer was provoked when, after Garnacho doubled the lead, Diogo Dalot skidded along the grass to block Jarrod Bowen’s shot.
The low note was the sight of Lisandro Martínez, four games into returning from a foot injury, being forced off on 71 minutes with what appeared to be a knee problem. The Argentinian had played on after the clash with Tomas Soucek that seemed to cause the injury.
Ten Hag said: “It is a personal disaster [for him]. It seems bad. We have to wait, make the right diagnosis in the coming days and we will see. Hopefully it is not too bad, we can only pray.”
Victory lifts United into sixth, eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth. Ten Hag said: “We can achieve a lot because everyone is killing everyone [in the league]. The three youngsters celebrating together – before the season we saw the potential but they need games, experience.”
Even at 2-0 up United were too open until Garnacho’s second sealed victory and claimed two consecutive Premier League wins for only a third time this season.
West Ham had preyed on this shakiness early on by strolling about and nearly profiting from their first corner. James Ward-Prowse lifted the ball in, Soucek’s header was flicked on by Edson Álvarez before André Onana, nose-to-nose with him in a crammed six-yard box, dived left to save.
United upped gear. Harry Maguire, in for Raphaël Varane, intercepted Soucek’s pass near halfway. Marcus Rashford took over and drove through the area before Kurt Zouma cleared. The corner, taken short by a combination of Luke Shaw and Marcus Rashford, was worked to Bruno Fernandes: he thumped a shot, it dipped under the bar, and Alphonse Areola palmed away.
Next, Soucek’s 20-yard effort went for a corner and when the ball broke to Mohammed Kudus, Martínez fouled the winger.
Ward-Prowse smashed the free‑kick low and Casemiro repelled the strike with his head.
The Brazilian was then pivotal in Højlund’s fifth strike in six outings as he stabbed a Zouma clearance to the Dane. In a flash Højlund dropped a shoulder, shifted the ball from his left to right, and a dead-eye finish beat Areola. The rest of the half featured United’s tempo slowing and the Hammers threatening them at several Ward-Prowse set pieces. From one corner Højlund nearly turned culprit by grappling Zouma in the area. He escaped sanction and, as the interval neared, missed a Garnacho tee-up, spraying wide from an acute angle.
Areola, who had taken an inadvertent knock from Zouma, was replaced by Lukasz Fabianski for the second half. Ten Hag’s men emerged needing to be quicker, and slicker – which Maguire was not when dawdling and Emerson Palmieri mugged him. Suddenly the left-back was in but he scooped over and, instantly, regretted his miss, as West Ham conceded.
It was simple: Fernandes floated the ball right to Garnacho who chopped on to his left and unloaded, the shot ricocheting off Nayef Aguerd beyond Fabianski. The Garnacho‑Højlund-Mainoo celebration followed and United had a two‑goal lead. It should have been 3-0 when the ball bobbled to Rashford but he skied the attempt, showing a rare smile which, given his recent Belfast‑located travails, was heartening to see.
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Encouraging, too, for United was the manner of the third. Scott McTominay, on for Mainoo, stripped Kalvin Phillips of possession and curved the ball right to Garnacho, who trotted forward and made no mistake.
David Moyes said: “We played better than when we beat them [2-0 at home] in December. I enjoyed my team’s performance but not the result.”
This game was two days before the anniversary of the Munich air disaster in 6 February 1958 that caused 23 fatalities including eight United players and three staff. A United win inspired by young players seemed a fitting tribute to those who died in that tragedy.
