Manchester United came off a strange midweek result reminiscent of their Champions League endeavours this season, as despite dominating the first half against Wolves, they were almost pegged back and forced to settle for a point until teenage sensation Kobbie Mainoo managed to weave past a few players and finish with composure, securing a morale boosting win for Ten Hag’s side, leading them into the weekend’s game as they played host to a West Ham side who made a mockery of the reds in the festive period.

While it always feels strange seeing Moyes back at Old Trafford as a visiting manager due to his short spell post-Ferguson at the club, his record as a visiting manager gives Manchester United optimism, and despite the return of Kudus and signing of former Leeds and Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips, Ten Hag brought his side into this one on the upturn of form and feeling inside and around the club.

With the injury and illness worries easing (except for you Martinez, but more on that later), the goals starting to come and an exciting future trio of Hojlund-Garnacho-Mainoo, along with all the off-field discussions of the new ownership, you could forgive a few fans for getting a bit giddy once again about the potential at the club.

The game itself was a fairly comfortable win, which we simply can’t call ‘routine’ as this performance has been missing so often this season. While West Ham had several chances which called Onana into question, he dealt with them wonderfully, and with Dalot making a last ditch tackle, the visitors lacked a cutting edge which would have made the game a more even contest, while Hojlund and Garnacho enjoyed a wonderful afternoon on the former’s 21st birthday.

As always, if you have any thoughts on Manchester United this season or in this specific game, get in touch with us by leaving a comment, following us on Twitter/X (@NextGoalWinBlog) or Instagram (@NextGoalWin).

Teams

With only 1 change from the win over Wolves midweek, as Maguire replaced Varane, United felt like their setup was in a strong enough position and it made a surprising situation where the large majority of the side remained illness and injury free this week.

The one aforementioned change is something I expect we will see over the remainder of the season, as Maguire came in for Varane who is well known to find it difficult featuring in back to back games with such a short turnaround, not to mention that apparent delay in contract negotiations and potential summer departure which will have a big impact in the final run-in.

For Maguire, he seems to be back in favour at the club and may well have a similar decision to be made in the summer about his future. I have been massively impressed by Maguire in this campaign as I believe his freedom from the captaincy and reliance has been beneficial for the player, and if he accepts a rotation role at the club I can see him sticking around for a few more seasons just yet. As we will discuss later from this game, the Martinez injury will surely see Maguire being back in the XI more often than not as the season progresses.

In attack it seems like the front 3 of Rashford-Hojlund-Garnacho may well be the answer to the right hand side issue United have felt this year, as Garnacho seems to be thriving in this position and without having to battle with Rashford for his place.

The final point on the selection is the start once again for Kobbie Mainoo. With the 18 year old being so integral to the midfield of United this season he will surely be managed by Ten Hag in the rest of the season for minutes as he will need to be brought in and out even with his impressive form and midweek winner. There was no way Ten Hag could have dropped him from this one despite his 4 90 minute performances in January and instead he was brought off at the first opportunity with the game pretty much won as the first change was made.

Manchester United: Onana, Dalot, Maguire, Martinez (Varane 71′), Shaw (Lindelof 88′), Mainoo (McTominay 64′), Casemiro, Fernandes, Garnacho, Rashford, Hojlund (Antony 88′)

Subs: Bayindir, Amrabat, Eriksen, Forson, Diallo

West Ham United: Areola (Fabianski 46′), Coufal (Cornet 72′), Zouma, Aguerd, Emerson, Alvarez, Soucek (Phillips 72′), Ward-Prowse, Johnson, Kudus, Bowen

Subs: Mavropanos, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Scarles, Mubama, Ings

Manchester United 3-0 West Ham United

Following their recent FA Cup successes, and the midweek win against Wolves, Manchester United felt full of confidence with an almost full strength side to choose from. The game marked Erik ten Hag’s 50th match in charge at Old Trafford, and his team delivered in style. Goals from Rasmus Hojlund and a brace by Alejandro Garnacho sealed the win for the home side. Prior to kick-off, there was a touching commemoration of the Munich Air Disaster’s 66th anniversary, making this fixture even more poignant given this year marked the first since Sir Bobby Charlton’s sad passing.

Manchester United wasted no time asserting their dominance. On the occasion of his 21st birthday, Rasmus Hojlund unleashed a fierce shot to give the Red Devils the lead. The first half showcased United’s attacking prowess, with West Ham struggling to contain their relentless pressure. The home crowd at Old Trafford paid tribute to the Munich Air Disaster victims, and the team responded with a spirited performance.

The second half belonged to Alejandro Garnacho. The young forward netted twice, capitalizing on West Ham’s defensive lapses. His clinical finishing put the game beyond reach for the visitors. Despite West Ham’s 20 shots, they failed to find the back of the net. Kalvin Phillips’ error contributed to the third goal, highlighting United’s ruthlessness. With this victory, Manchester United leapfrogged West Ham into sixth place.

The win over extends their unbeaten streak to five matches in all competitions. The team’s late winner against Wolves earlier in the week set the tone for this impressive performance, and with momentum building, Erik ten Hag’s side aims to climb further up the league table with their next challenge being a game against an impressive Aston Villa side who could well create problems for United to contend with.

Talking Points

The main talking point has to be the potentially iconic image of the 3 future stars at Old Trafford celebrating a comfortable afternoon’s victory, as Garnacho was joined by Hojlund and Mainoo on the advertising hoardings of Old Trafford to give the social media accounts and print media their cover image for the afternoon. In what has been a poor season by United’s high standards, the standout has to be the emergence of Mainoo, the signing of Hojlund and the step up shown by Garnacho.

As Hojlund celebrated his 21st birthday with an ‘interesting’ but enjoyable celebration it feels truly like the monkey is off his back when it comes to league goals, and although the service is still lacking from those behind and around, he is showing his talent to take scrappy opportunities and be clinical when the moment comes. With his Champions League goals proving his quality and now the transfer onto the league stage, he has begun the process of living up to the initial hype. I would remain cautious on the over-reliance on him at still a young age, and so I would still expect a reinforcement to come in this summer, while the previously mentioned service issue needs to be addressed at some point.

With Kobbie Mainoo coming off of the late winner against Wolves he had another start and solid showing under his belt alongside Casemiro. With the midfield issue being the main problem for United for the first 1/3 of the season, Mainoo stepping in after his pre-season injury has meant United will be saving a few million in the market this summer, although again perhaps with the investment coming, another player to give United options other than Mainoo, Casemiro and McTominay would be worth looking into.

The third of these young stars stepping up is arguably the one who has gone a bit under the radar, due to this now being his second season in the first XI, but Alejandro Garnacho has been flying at the minute for United, and with the right hand side being so questionable with Antony not living up to the price tag, Mount not being tested (mainly due to injury), Pellistri heading out on loan after a few cameo appearances and Amad not being given the nod for whatever reason. If Garnacho can become comfortable with being out on the right as he seems to have been in recent weeks, he offers so much for United and allows them to play their strongest attacking line of Rashford-Hojlund-Garnacho together. Already a diamond talent at the club, Garnacho can capitalise on this questionable selection on the right wing, while he may well come to challenge Rashford on the more familiar left if he continues.

The only negative from the weekend, was the injury concern of Lisandro Martinez, as the Argentine defender seemed to suffer a knee injury after shielding the ball out against Coufal. The defender tried his best to continue but had to be removed shortly after, with Ten Hag saying that it looks serious, but later reports suggest surgery isn’t needed and Martinez is expected to play again before the end of the season. The importance of Martinez can’t be underestimated as we have seen fans panic in midweek as he appeared to ice up his foot after being withdrawn, and now the long term injury layoff again plaguing his career since arriving in England. It will be a big loss for United, and as we mentioned earlier, the reliance on Maguire and Varane will be tested, with neither player committing to a long term future at the club according to reports.

With this win, Manchester United have leapfrogged West Ham and moved into 6th, although still with a 6+ point gap to those sitting in the expected Champions League spots. With Aston Villa next up for United, a win would drag Villa back towards them and as the 5 sides at the top seem in perfect condition to continue their first half success, Ten Hag must emphasise to the players how big this coming game will be. If they can secure wins against Wolves, West Ham and then Aston Villa in consecutive games, it will be a great run to keep in touching distance of the projected 5 Champions League spots.