It’s just not good enough.
Manchester United dropped points at Old Trafford once again on Thursday, failing to hold onto a slim lead in the second half after a slew of defensive changes by Ruben Amorim. Diogo Dalot may not have been the best right back on the pitch that evening, but he had the control and poise to put United ahead just before the hour mark. His goal rewarded a positive start to the second half with the Hammers on the back foot. The control was only temporary, though.
A night of dominant
possession with little end product began with the return of Matheus Cunha and a shuffled deck on defense. Ayden Heaven started in place of an injured Matthijs De Ligt, and Noussair Mazraoui started alongside him with Leny Yoro benched after a poor outing at Crystal Palace last weekend.
The return of Cunha did not however make a big impact going forward. United favored the right wing once again as Dalot struggled to get past Aaron Wan-Bissaka on the right side of the West Ham formation.
There was a clear gap in talent otherwise between the teams, which the Reds tried and failed to exploit up front. Nearly 70% of possession did not lead to goals, though the Reds had three good chances on target just before the half hour mark. Bryan Mbeumo nearly caught Alphonse Areola with a lob to the back post, and a clearance off the line by Wan-Bissaka denied Joshua Zirkzee just a few mintues later.
The second half saw the Reds continue forward with mixed results. The rinse and repeat of putting the ball out wide to launch and an inswinging cross was predictable once again, but an effort by Casemiro finally bounced the Reds’ way in the 58th minute. The deflection fell kindly for Dalot, who took a touch and fired past Areola for 1-0.
From then on, the Reds did what they have developed a bad habit of doing: They just tried to see it out.
Soungoutou Magassa scored an equalizer for the visitors in the 83rd minute following an extended period of complacent play from United. The corner kick was initially cleared away from the line, but fell to Magassa with acres of space to take a touch and fire in a rebound shot.
Bruno Fernandes registered United’s only shot on target over the final half hour
Amorim remarked after the game that his side were in control and failed to finish the job, and it was clear from his substitutions that his goal was to do just that, see out the result. Four of his five substitutions were defensive players, and the fifth, Mason Mount, isn’t exactly a forward either, despite playing in the front three.
The draw means that United fail to jump into fifth-place, and sit eighth with the same points as Brighton & Hove Albion and Liverpool.
The congested winter fixture list continues next Monday at Wolverhampton Wanderers, who are dead last with just two points this season.
