The visit of Manchester United to the London Stadium to play West Ham United yielded a defeat, as a late penalty decided the affair.
Several opportunities fell to Manchester United in the opening period, but their finishing was below par.
Early on into the game, Alejandro Garnacho had the chance to race the Red Devils into the lead but his curling first-time effort after a pass from Rashford rattled off the crossbar and back into the field of play.
In the 32nd minute, Diogo Dalot was put clean through on goal following a defense-splitting pass from Bruno Fernandes, but his compatriot failed to put the ball into an open net even after going past goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, who rushed out of the area intending to deal with the danger.
Christain Eriksen also delivered a cross from the left corner in the 40th minute, and after Alvarez and Fabianski went for the ball, it deflected off them, cannoning off the crossbar and into the danger zone.
Fabianski also displayed his brilliance in the last minute of normal time, parrying a glancing header towards the bottom corner following a lovely delivery from Eriksen via a free-kick.
Two minutes before half of the half-hour, Carlos Soler’s corner picked out Paqueta in the middle and beat Manchester United goalie Andre Onana in the air, but the Brazilian’s effort ended on top of the net.
The second half produced goals, with West Ham United going ahead in the 74th minute through a goal from Crysensio Summerville.
Summerville tapped an opportunity presented to him at the far post after Danny Ings had miscued his attempt towards goal.
Nine minutes before the expiration of normal time, a combination of headers finished up by Casemiro handed Manchester United the equalizer.
A controversial decision settled the affair, as West Ham United were handed a penalty in the 90th minute after Matthijs de Ligt was adjudged to have fouled Danny Ings.
VAR intervened before the call was made, with referee David Coote also making use of the pitch-side monitor to examine the incident.
Jarrod Bowen stepped up and emphatically tucked the penalty into the bottom-right corner, but goalkeeper Andre Onana was unable to save the well-dispatched spot-kick despite diving the right way.
Twelve minutes of action was signaled as added time in the second half, with over that duration played, but Manchester United couldn’t secure an equalizer as they fell to a defeat to West Ham United, piling more pressure on Erik ten Hag.
Erik ten Hag’s job becomes increasingly under fire, as Manchester United continues to falter under the Dutchman’s tutelage.
