Man Utd lament squandered opportunity in West Ham stalemate

Manchester Uniteds struggles in protecting a lead meant they slipped out of the Premier Leagues top five after lowlying West Ham fought back to claim a 1-1 tie at Old Trafford on Thursday.

Diogo Dalots initial league strike after 19 months gave Ruben Amorims side the advantage but they could not hold on as Soungoutou Magassa grabbed an essential point for the away side in their push to stay up.

United have dropped points just once across their previous eight outings yet they might be in a stronger spot without the stumbles from strong starts versus Nottingham Forest Tottenham Everton and West Ham now.

The Red Devils occupy eighth position just two points from the top four while the draw pulls West Ham to within two points of survival amid their improvement under Nuno Espirito Santo.

Amorim brought back Matheus Cunha from injury to strengthen Uniteds forward line but the home team still missed the creativity and drive needed to overcome the Hammers organised backline.

Joshua Zirkzee snapped a near yearlong drought for a Premier League goal to spark Uniteds recovery against a weary Crystal Palace last Sunday.

Yet the Dutch forward proved ineffective once more without the injured Benjamin Sesko acting as the central figure in Uniteds assault.

Zirkzee nearly opened the scoring before the break by cleverly directing Amad Diallos threatening delivery toward goal with his thigh only for Aaron WanBissaka to block it on the line against his old team.

West Hams escape almost ended immediately as the rebound reached Bruno Fernandes who struck the posts outer edge with a bold volleyed shot.

The away team missed Lucas Paquetas danger following the Brazilians dismissal for dissent in Sundays loss to Liverpool.

Jarrod Bowen thus carried extra weight in creation for the Hammers and almost conjured a strike from nowhere via a weaving run past four United defenders before his shot took a deflection straight to Senne Lammens.

United at last turned their ball control into a breakthrough from an unexpected player shortly before the hour.

Amorim had openly stated last week that Dalot ranked among those not at their peak in the United lineup.

The Portuguese defender answered with his first topflight goal since May 2024 as Casemiros wayward shot looped helpfully his way yet he displayed quick feet to settle it before rifling into the distant corner.

However United regretted failing to extend that edge as the Hammers responded.

Bowen sparked it by earning a corner then glancing Andy Irvines inswinger toward goal.

Noussair Mazraoui hooked it away on the line but straight to Magassa who tapped in his debut English goal.

Fernandes had a pair of late chances to claim victory in added time but both times he lost his usual poise with errant efforts soaring high over the crossbar.