Manchester United edged West Ham 1-0 on Sunday evening courtesy of Marcus Rashford’s 100th goal for the club.
Rashford started in a fluid front-four at Old Trafford, partnering Cristiano Ronaldo up top with Anthony Elanga replacing the injured Antony and Harry Maguire in at the back due to Victor Lindelof’s illness.
After a comfortable win in midweek, the hosts came out the blocks in rather subdued fashion as David Moyes set his team up to sit in and soak up pressure in his bid to finally win as an away manager at his old, short-lived home stadium.
A scrappy first half saw Man United fail to make the most of a variety of half chances while Said Benrahma solely carried West Ham’s threat.
Rashford, starting wide left but with the freedom to attack as he pleased, played with a fresh air of confidence about him in front of England manager Gareth Southgate.
It was no surprise when he popped up on 42 minutes to send a bullet header past Lukas Fabianski, from Christian Eriksen’s fine cross.
West Ham pushed up the pitch as their hosts struggled to build on their lead after the break.
Yet, their dearth of away goals in the Premier League this year was underlined by a struggle to forge clear openings and Moyes took off the booked Gianluca Scamacca after 55 minutes, introducing Michail Antonio rather than see the haywire Italian given his marching orders.
Lisandro Martinez expertly denied Craig Dawson a far-post header from Declan Rice’s fine free-kick, while Diogo Dalot’s aerial presence in his own box helped maintain Man United’s lead.
David De Gea produced a fine diving stop to deny Kurt Zouma’s flicked header as the final five minutes began and Fred, only moments later, hit he woodwork with an unmarked chance to seal the points for the hosts in an increasingly fervent finish.
Jarrod Bowen was denied by a Maguire block in stoppage time before another De Gea parry turned away Rice’s piledriver seconds before the final whistle confirmed Man United’s rise to fifth in the table.
