Manchester United 3-1 West Ham: Three talking points as Garnacho’s 90th-minute strike takes the Red Devils to FA Cup quarter-finals
A late comeback from Manchester United saw West Ham lose by 3-1 at Old Trafford in the 5th round of the FA Cup.
All eyes were on the Red Devils who were coming at the back of the Carabao Cup triumph.
Erik ten Hag made several changes to his side. Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof formed the centre-back partnership as Raphael Varane and Lisandro Martinez were given a rest.
In the 54th minute, West Ham took the lead with Said Benrahma’s wonderful strike that found the far top corner.
After the opener, the visitors invited pressure from United by sitting deep. Relentless attacks from the Red Devils bore fruit when Nayef Aguerd headed the ball at the back of his own net.
A couple of very late goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Fred helped Man United to progress to the FA Cup quarter-final.
Shuffling the pack did not help Erik ten Hag
After an exhausting evening at Wembley, Erik ten Hag decided to shuffle his side.
Marcus Rashford, Casemiro, Varane and Martinez were made to watch from the stands.
United’s defence lacked pace and vision to play line-breaking passes. Before the conclusion of the first half, both McTominay and Maguire were given a yellow card each.
United lacked an attacking threat as Antony failed to take on the defenders successfully. If not for David de Gea, United would have been behind before the half-time whistle.
Are Manchester United too reliant on Casemiro?
Scott McTominay has been on the fringes of the side since Casemiro first started for Man United. McTominay had a great chance tonight to showcase that he can be a decent backup to the Brazilian.
However, the Scotland international failed.
His yellow card forced Ten Hag to unleash Casemiro. The 31-year-old did lose a ball a few times but the more important part of his performance was that he always tried to pass the ball forward.
He did not shy away from playing long-ball passes to the wide men. He is a fantastic holding midfielder but his vision of distributing the ball makes him even more special.
Alejandro Garnacho turns up the heat in the second half
The 18-year-old struggled in the first half, like his colleagues. He could not find spaces to run into which thwarted his game style. When Rashford came on the pitch, the defenders concentrated more on the in-form England international.
This allowed Garnacho to exploit the left flank and the lad did not disappoint. His 90th-minute stunning curled strike shows how talented this youngster is.
Ten Hag will be grateful to him for saving his teammates’ 30 minutes of extra time amid the already congested fixture list.
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