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Manchester United got away with it: again. Were they the better side? No. Did they deserve a point? Barely. Yet there they are, still in the top four, refusing to yield, clinging to that final Champions League place as if their lives depended on it.
Daley Blind nailed the equaliser a minute into injury time as Manchester United threw everything at the slender hope of a point.
Luke Shaw was then sent off for a second bookable offence, in a desperate attempt to keep what was theirs.
Can they last this way until the end of the season? It seems increasingly unlikely. A point wasn’t really that helpful here.
Manchester United may be overhauled by Tottenham Hotspur or Arsenal in fourth place on Tuesday. If both London clubs win, they could be sixth next time they play.
Blind’s equaliser was hardly a classic either. United were putting late pressure on the West Ham penalty area and a Wayne Rooney free-kick had been cleared. When it was launched back into the box by Marcos Rojo the clearance fell handily to Blind, whose shot skipped a few times before nestling in the corner of Adrian’s net.
Until that point, West Ham had looked almost comfortable and the happy home fans were searching for an answer to the riddle of the day – what do you call a centre-half who does three keepy-ups in the penalty area, spins on 180 degrees and fires a right-foot volley into the goal? Not bloody English, for a start.
Not a centre-half, either, truth be told.
Cheikhou Kouyate has played every other game for West Ham United in midfield this season, and was only drafted into defence due to acute injury problems.
Once there, however, the Senegalese international proved not just his class but his versatility. He was a rock when he needed to be, until conceding the late foul that led indirectly to the goal, and could have been a match-winner had West Ham successfully defended his 49th minute opener.
Mark Noble played the free-kick into the box and in the scramble to clear it hit Rooney on the shoulder and popped up to Kouyate. He knocked it up once, twice, back to goal, spun on his heels and, wham. Yes, there was a helpful deflection but even so it was an act of great panache and confidence, not your standard centre-half fare at all. Yet Kouyate was not found wanting at the more physical challenge of the game either.
West Ham greeted the final whistle with groans, more than moans. It could have been more. They were the better team for long periods here. Brighter and livelier, despite Manchester United’s stellar forward line, and they only looked second best when dropping deep to contain Louis Van Gaal’s side, rather than taking the game to them as they did for much of the first-half. In that period of play, Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea touched the ball more times than their striker Radamel Falcao -23 to 20 – and he may have done a better job with the one true opportunity Falcao got in the second-half, too. He was through one on one but screwed his shot wide as Adrian came out to close him down.
Of course, Manchester United came back with all they could muster in the late stages but it wasn’t greatly terrifying. Adrian saved with a foot from Robin Van Persie with eight minutes to go, and Marouane Fellaini was introduced for those mixer moments, but they were precious few. If anything, the best chances were West Ham’s still – Carl Jenkinson had a chipped cross fall in the corridor of uncertainty and glide narrowly past De Gea’s far post, while Noble and then Kevin Nolan forced a superb double save with four minutes remaining.
Other results
Burnley 2 West Brom 2
Newcastle 1 Stoke 1. — Mail Sport.
Online Reporter