This was the kind of lethargic performance that José Mourinho has in mind when he warns that Manchester United will continue to exist in the shadow of their formidable neighbours next season. They are 19 points behind City and although this forgettable draw ensured that Mourinho’s side will finish second, a club of United’s might can only wince at the distance between them and Pep Guardiola’s record-breaking champions.
The gap is vast and it will be a struggle for United to close it as long as they continue to toil against opponents as limited as West Ham, whose lack of ambition did little to further David Moyes’s argument for a new contract.
United’s supporters contented themselves with bellowing their support for the hospitalised Sir Alex Ferguson on a drab night at the London Stadium. Not much else happened, except for a late flare up between Paul Pogba and Mark Noble.
Mourinho had glowered more than usual before this game. His observation that some of the players at his disposal are not good enough to help him challenge City’s supremacy did not seem like one of the great motivational ploys and United, who made eight changes after their 1-0 loss Brighton last Friday, did not really suggest that they were going to respond to their manager’s curious form of tough love during an edgy opening.
They needed time to adjust to an unfamiliar 3-4-1-2 system and although they looked solid in the central areas, it must have alarmed Mourinho when Chris Smalling’s failure to deal with Aaron Cresswell’s cross almost allowed Marko Arnautovic to give West Ham an early lead.
Arnautovic turned an awkward header over, however, and United started to threaten, especially when Alexis Sánchez was able to turn and run at West Ham’s defence. Pogba had the freedom to roam behind Sánchez and Jesse Lingard, moreover, and Mourinho’s side could argue that they were unfortunate not to be in front at the interval. Scott McTominay sent a shot inches wide after an error from Manuel Lanzini, Lingard had two swerving shots pushed away by Adrián and West Ham were indebted to a brilliant piece of athleticism from their goalkeeper in the 23rd minute.
Sánchez, who scored a hat-trick for Arsenal on this ground last season, must have been licking his lips when Antonio Valencia found him with a cut-back from the right. He had time to pick his spot and he tried to bend a shot high to Adrián’s right.
The Spaniard responded with a sharp stop, however, and then he sprang back to turn Luke Shaw’s low drive against the woodwork.
It is two years to the day since West Ham said farewell to Upton Park with an emotional victory over United and with his team’s Premier League status secured, there was an argument that this was an opportunity for Moyes to let go of the handbrake.
Growing criticism of the Scot’s conservatism has entered the thinking of the east London club’s board, which has still not decided whether to keep him, and the home fans craved an exciting performance.
Yet West Ham were pragmatic, even though they no longer have to fret about relegation, and their willingness to sit back for long spells had a sapping effect on the atmosphere.
At least Arnautovic was giving it a go. The Austrian took on United’s back three on his own at times and he deserved better after a powerful surge down the right, only for João Mário to jab his cross wide from close range.
Mourinho had started with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial on the bench, despite Romelu Lukaku’s absence with an ankle injury, but United continued to look brighter in attack at the start of the second half. Sánchez’s relentless brio was elevating an increasingly scrappy battle and his persistence almost paid off when he scampered round Adrián, who had been slow to react to Pogba’s pass. West Ham were relieved that Angelo Ogbonna had raced back to head the Chilean’s chip off the line. Declan Rice, another assured presence at the back, would also earn appreciative applause for a fine tackle on Sánchez.
Yet United were often guilty of stodginess in midfield. They were creating the clearer openings, with Pogba and Smalling wasteful with decent headed opportunities, but their moves had grown slow and predictable, making West Ham’s reluctance to throw caution to the wind hard to justify.
The underdogs ought not to have been overwhelmed by fear, even though they could not take their eyes off Sánchez for a single moment, and Moyes eventually decided to open up, replacing Arthur Masuaku with Andy Carroll in the 66th minute.
Carroll, of course, had clashed with Moyes after failing to make it off the bench when City ran riot here last month. Now the striker had a chance to throw his weight around and unsettle United with his strength in the air. Yet West Ham had settled for a point long before the end. United, even with Marcus Rashford on in place of Lingard, did not have the wit to break down the claret-and-blue wall.
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