Benjamin Sesko turned himself into super sub once more as his 96th-minute equaliser ensured Michael Carrick’s unbeaten start to life back at Manchester United continued.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have been miserable at home and went in to the game in the relegation zone but put on a display here that should give fans plenty of optimism of survival.
On the flip side, this was uncharacteristically flat from Carrick’s United who, from the opening exchanges, looked both leggy and devoid of ideas, only to save their moment of magic for deep in stoppage time, to the delight of the travelling fans in this 1-1 draw.
Daily Mail Sport’s NATHAN SALT was at the London Stadium to give his verdict on the sides…
Benjamin Sesko is turning himself into something of a super sub after a 96th-minute equaliser
MANCHESTER UNITED (4-2-3-1)
Senne Lammens – 6
Made a strong save to deny Crysencio Summerville early on but after that, truth be told, he didn’t have a lot to do. His distribution still leaves plenty of room for improvement, though.
Diogo Dalot – 5
Never managed to get to grips with Crysencio Summerville all night long. Allowed the tricky winger to cut in and shoot dangerously in the first half before hacking him down after being bamboozled by him in the second. Booked.
Harry Maguire – 7
United’s best player for the 68 minutes he was on the pitch. Defended confidently, won all five of his duels, and bar one mistake early in the game, did his case for a World Cup spot no harm at all with England manager Thomas Tuchel here watching on.
Lisandro Martinez – 6.5
Needed to be braver on the ball given he’s a strong passer from the back and West Ham players showed little willingness to engage, especially in the first half. Didn’t get a lot wrong defensively.
Luke Shaw – 5
Thought he’d given United the lead when he sent another clever set-piece towards goal, only for Aaron Wan-Bissaka to clear it off the line with his right knee. Given his wealth of his experience he showed real naivety to let the ball bounce, leaving in him in no-mans-land moments before Tomas Soucek scored.
Luke Shaw made a costly error in the moments leading up to Tomas Soucek’s opening goal
Casemiro – 6
Thundered in a header from a Kobbie Mainoo cross just after the hour but was offside by a fraction. Grew into the game to the point of his disallowed goal but United’s lack of options in central midfield means he had to run himself into the ground. That formula can’t go on if games are days apart.
Kobbie Mainoo – 6.5
One player who actually looked like he wanted to speed up the tempo of United’s players while so many team-mates looked laboured. It’s going to be a tough slog in the heat this summer and Mainoo showed the onlooking Tuchel here his value in spreading the play as opponents tire.
Amad – 5
Such an exciting player but he was shackled here by the increasingly impressive El Hadji Malick Diouf. The most noteworthy contribution from the Ivorian on the night was a comically bad dive inside the penalty box when United were 1-0 down. Was lucky to avoid a booking.
Bruno Fernandes – 6
Much was made about him playing deeper under Ruben Amorim but he defaulted to that late in this game when United needed every attack to run through him. He’s so valuable to just calming team-mates down when they seem to be seeing spinning stars. Composure x 100.
Matheus Cunha – 5
The thing about Cunha is he rarely often plays really poorly, but the games where he is electric are also few and far between. This was a low-key outing in which he covered a lot of ground, drifted in and out of differing positions, but didn’t manage a shot and didn’t create a chance in 69 minutes. Needs to do a lot more in games like this where United are crying out for a spark.
Matheus Cunha (right) struggled to assert himself on a game that was crying out for him
Bryan Mbeumo – 6.5
Looked to be out of ideas on a tough night where he worked hard but had little to show for it. But Michael Carrick left him out there amid the troubles, trusted him to produce a big moment, and he did with the cross to Benjamin Sesko for the equaliser. Struggled overall but big players produce the big moments and he did that.
HEAD COACH: Michael Carrick – 7
Looked to be heading for his first defeat since succeeding Ruben Amorim but he was bold off the bench, taking defenders off for attackers, and it sent the message that United had to go right until the very end. The start or hold back super sub Sesko continues to be a real dilemma for him.
SUBS
Leny Yoro (for Harry Maguire, 68) – 6
Benjamin Sesko (for Matheus Cunha, 69) – 7
Joshua Zirkzee (for Diogo Dalot, 82) – 6
West Ham (4-3-3)
Hermansen 6; Wan-Bissaka 7.5, Disasi 6, Mavropanos 6.5, Diouf 7 (Scarles 80); Soucek 7, Fernandes 7, Potts 6.5 (Magassa 79); Bowen 8, Castellanos 6 (Wilson 69, 6), Summerville 7.5
Goals: Soucek (50)
Head coach: Nuno Espirito Santo 8
