United were sunk by a hugely controversial Jarrod Bowen spot-kick, but should have put the game out of sight long before then
Erik ten Hag is facing pressure like never before after Manchester United fell to their fourth defeat in nine Premier League games, going down to a 2-1 defeat at West Ham on Sunday. They fell victim to an absurdly harsh VAR penalty, but if Ten Hag is to blame anyone it should be his own side for missing a hatful of opportunities.
United made a flying start in London, where they had failed to win since last November and could have scored five goals before the break. Alejandro Garnacho smacked the bar from inside the box then fired wide, but Diogo Dalot's glaring miss was far worse, ballooning over the bar with the goal gaping after rounding Lukasz Fabianski.
West Ham had been dreadful but grew into the game after the break, and Crysencio Summerville gave them the lead by beating the lacklustre Dalot and pouncing inside the area. Casemiro, however, levelled with a close-range header, but more frustration was around the corner as David Coote was ordered to the VAR screen for an innocuous challenge by Matthjis de Ligt on Danny Ings and, to the visitors' fury and bewilderment, gave a penalty.
Jarrod Bowen scored from the spot to give West Ham coach Julen Lopetegui a lifeline and inflict yet more misery on Ten Hag.
GOAL rates United's players from the London Stadium…
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Andre Onana (5/10):
Had very little to do until Summerville's goal, when he did not impose himself as much as he could have. Continued after a head clash with Antonio.
Diogo Dalot (3/10):
Had perhaps the worst miss of the Premier League season then lost Summerville for the opening goal.
Matthjis de Ligt (5/10):
Had a comfortable first half against Antonio, but got tested more and more and had to take a booking when taking down Summerville. A soft block from Ings' shot led to the opener and was harshly penalised for the penalty.
Lisandro Martinez (4/10):
Too passive against Bowen when the hosts took the lead.
Noussair Mazraoui (5/10):
Good first half, bad second as Wan-Bissaka got the better of him.
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Christian Eriksen (5/10):
Put in a good cross for Casemiro and helped the team dominate the first 45 minutes before inevitably fading.
Casemiro (7/10):
Had a glancing header saved by Fabianksi but got his revenge to equalise. Creative on the whole.
Bruno Fernandes (8/10):
Magnificent and deserved much more. Could have had three assists in the first half and should have scored himself.
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Alejandro Garnacho (5/10):
Lively but really wasteful, should have scored twice inside seven minutes.
Rasmus Hojlund (4/10):
Barely got a sniff for his second consecutive trip to the London Stadium.
Marcus Rashford (5/10):
A disappointing performance after a decent start, coming off in the 59th minute.
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Amad Diallo (5/10):
Not a great improvement on Rashford.
Joshua Zirkzee (6/10):
Knocked it on for Casemiro's goal.
Victor Lindelof (5/10):
Weak attempted clearance led to the penalty.
Erik ten Hag (5/10):
Let down by his players and the VAR after overseeing an excellent first half. His changes made sense and had an impact, but luck evaded him. All the same, he has to take responsibility for another grim result.