Manchester United escaped London Stadium with a 1-1 draw against West Ham, after Benjamin Sesko scored a 96th-minute equaliser that stretched the Premier League unbeaten run to nine matches and kept the team inside the top four, although Michael Carrick accepted the overall display fell short of recent standards.
The match interrupted a sequence of four straight league victories for Manchester United and nearly produced the first defeat since Carrick returned to the club, with Tomas Soucek’s second-half strike putting West Ham in front before Sesko’s late goal salvaged a point in dramatic fashion.
Carrick acknowledged that Manchester United struggled to create clear chances at West Ham, with the team limited to nine shots and an expected goals
figure of 0.6, only the second league game this season with fewer than 10 attempts after managing five efforts against Tottenham in November.
"We were ok. I think we were a little disappointed, and we were definitely not at our best," he told TNT Sports. "It's times like that when you find a way and move on. I'm a little frustrated at that. It is a tough place to come, and we didn't have that sharpness to find the answers. Great spirit again, and we will take the point and move on. For where we are and being together for a short space of time. In the end, we have took a point. It didn't come easy, and we found a way to take a point. We will take some positives from it. "
While the late goal sustained momentum for Manchester United, the game also highlighted ongoing defensive issues away from home, with West Ham becoming the latest opponent to score as Carrick’s side extended an unwanted run to 18 consecutive league away fixtures without a clean sheet, the longest such sequence since the 25-match stretch recorded between September 1970 and September 1971.
Despite that defensive vulnerability, the result meant Manchester United preserved the nine-match unbeaten league sequence and avoided slipping out of the Champions League positions, an important outcome given the short period Carrick has worked with the squad since returning to the club setup.
Sesko’s late intervention continued a sudden surge in form for the forward, who had managed only two goals across the first 16 Premier League appearances but has now scored four times in the last five league games, including a stoppage-time winner against Fulham on February 1 that also changed the result in Manchester United’s favour.
"It is not surprising; that is what Ben has got in him," Carrick told BBC Match of the Day about Sesko. "He is dangerous in and around the box. That's two really important goals for himone to get a point and the other to get a win. Delighted for him. "
Carrick accepted the performance level at West Ham did not match recent displays but stressed that resilience, late goals and the ability to collect points in difficult away fixtures are helping Manchester United stay competitive in the league table while the squad continues to adjust to the demands and structure introduced since Carrick’s return.
