Manchester United to lose West Ham United Leaving them 14th in dramatic circumstances at the London Stadium on Sunday Premier League.

Pressure will mount on Erik ten Hag after another poor result after a string of missed chances – worst case scenario Diogo Dalot somehow, with the goal open, he was putting the ball over the bar from eight yards out.

Crysencio Summerville Put West Ham ahead with 25 minutes to go casemiro He equalized for the guest team in the 81st minute.

Then in the 88th minute, Matthijs de Ligt brought Danny Ings After a long VAR review, a penalty decision was given to the home team. Jarrod Bowen He converted from the spot to condemn United to their fourth defeat in their first nine league games.

Here, Athletic‘s Laurie Whitwell analyzes the match’s key talking points.

What does defeat mean for Ten Hag?

Manchester United were much better than West Ham, but this result, although it came with great misfortune, put even more pressure on Erik ten Hag.

Ten Hag will rightly complain bitterly about the penalty awarded to West Ham that caused his side’s defeat, but his players also missed enough chances to easily win the game.

However, United sit 14th in the Premier League and have scored just eight goals in nine games, which is clearly not good enough and gives the hierarchy at Old Trafford plenty of reason to think.

Ten Hag on the touchline of the London Stadium (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

The last season in which United scored fewer than nine goals after nine games in the league was 1973–74 (also eight). The club was relegated at the end of that season.

How did Dalot miss this?

Even Diogo Dalot, one of the most positive and determined members of Ten Hag’s squad, certainly wouldn’t want to look back on his 32nd-minute finishing attempt. It will go down in history as one of the shortcomings of the season.

He had done so many things right. It was once again a deliberate strategy from Ten Hag to run forward through the middle, playing again at right-back after being substituted there for the visit of Brentford in Noussair Mazraoui’s absence last week.

Against Brentford this move created a chance with Andre Onana firing a straight pass over the top and against West Ham it was the same; Dalot sensed the opportunity to step forward when the ball turned to Bruno Fernandes in midfield.

Fernandes spotted Dalot’s well-timed run and made a first-time aerial pass. Lukasz Fabianski rushed to intervene but Dalot scored first and his touch on the West Ham goalkeeper earned what looked like a simple finish into an unguarded goal.

Dalot passes the ball over Fabianski (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

The ball was ricocheting and two West Ham defenders were scrambling to recover, but Dalot rightly took his time. But when he came to add the final touch he sliced ​​the ball wide.

Diogo Dalot makes his entrance due to missing the season…#WHUMUN | #WHUFC | #MUFC pic.twitter.com/hd8HA9qblh

— Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) 27 October 2024

Rasmus Hojlund looked horrified as Dalot fell to his knees and Alejandro Garnacho pulled his shirt up to his chin in frustration. There was a stupefying fuss at the London Stadium and it subsided as West Ham fans began to revel in Dalot’s mistake.

Dalot, stunned after his escape (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)

United continues to struggle in front of goal

Dalot’s chance was the most visible chance to go awry for United at West Ham, but there were several other players in the first half who should have opened the scoring for Ten Hag’s side.

After taking eight shots, United went into the break with an expected goals (xG) figure of 1.48, compared to West Ham’s 0.04. Before the match, they already had the biggest difference between xG and goals scored in the top tier; The gap has now widened even further.

They also failed to score from four big opportunities, meaning they have given up 22 goals in total this season. Neither side missed more.

Garnacho had two very good chances in the first 10 minutes. His first goal saw Fernandes hit the bar from a square ball after Christian Eriksen had intercepted a loose West Ham pass after United’s press. In the second, he missed the target entirely, with Fernandes crossing the wing after neat exchanges.

Hojlund could not take advantage of his opportunity in the penalty area when Garnacho’s low cross came to him. The opener followed some better team work as Hojlund smartly tried to shoot but Fabianski blocked it.

Soon after, Eriksen and Dalot passed the ball to Casemiro, who passed the ball first to Fernandes eight yards out. But he sent the header away.

At the 20th minute, Marcus Rashford He scored the goal but couldn’t even shoot because he couldn’t take the ball with him while running.

United almost took the lead from set-pieces twice after Dalot was missed. Edson Alvarez headed Eriksen’s corner towards his own post and just before half-time the Dane delivered another dangerous ball, this time from a free kick, and Casemiro glanced into the far corner.

First-team coach Darren Fletcher, who had been watching the game from the stands with analysts, was heading towards the dressing room and had his arms raised in celebration, but Fabianski held out his glove for a superb save.

In the second half, Hojlund received another good stop from Fabianski, but it wasn’t until the 81st minute that United scored through Casemiro’s header after West Ham had taken the lead.

Stoppage time VAR drama

The penalty awarded to West Ham, which determined the outcome of this match, angered United. When De Ligt and Ings came together in the penalty area, VAR Michael Oliver intervened.

He believed there was enough contact of the lower legs to cause a foul. Referee David Coote ruled in real time that there had been no infringement, but Oliver ordered him to the touchline screen and the referee inevitably pointed to the spot.

#WHUMUN – RETURN AT 87′ VAR

The referee did not give West Ham a penalty for de Ligt’s tackle on Ings. VAR decided there was sufficient contact on Ings’ lower leg and recommended an on-field review. The referee overturned his initial decision and awarded a penalty.

— Premier League Match Center (@PLMatchCentre) 27 October 2024

Fletcher was furious in the stands: “One week it was a high threshold, the next week it wasn’t, it’s a fucking joke.”

His sentiments were echoed by Ten Hag and Ruud van Nistelrooy, who appealed in vain to fourth umpire Thomas Bramall. De Ligt and his team-mates also stated that the ball hit Ings’ hand when a replay was shown on the big screens at the London Stadium.

Nevertheless, the call was accepted and Bowen slotted the ball over Onana, condemning Ten Hag and his team to a damaging defeat.

Ten Witches protest over late sentencing (Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)

What did Erik ten Hag say?

Speaking at the press conference held after the match, United manager Ten Hag said: “In football, the best team does not always win. It was loud and clear today (that it wasn’t a penalty), but that wasn’t the way VAR worked.

“They explained the process before the season and said that they would intervene only when it was clear and obvious (mistake). I am not criticizing anyone, I am criticizing the process, but of course there are those who carry it out.

“The other impact was that we didn’t score, we created too many opportunities. The first half was exactly how I wanted to see my team play. “We should have scored, but overall I didn’t receive much criticism towards my team.”

The Dutch football player answered the question about the mood in the club as follows: “Mixed feelings. What we always do is to look in the mirror and look at what we did wrong. The only thing I can criticize the players (today) is the missed opportunities. The referee’s decision had a big impact on the score.”

What will be the future of Manchester United?

Wednesday, October 30: City of Leicester (H), Carabao Cup round of 16, England 19.45, 15.45 ET

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(Top photo: James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images))