Perhaps Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer said it best: “Last week we were 2-0 down at Southampton, today it was only 1-0 and that is a step forward.”
His side got off to a brutal start, playing a first half at West Ham United today that was every bit as awful as what we saw in the Tottenham Hotspur rout. The Hammers led 1-0 at the break, but easily could have been up 2-0 or 3-0, given the way they dominated the first half.
https://twitter.com/UtdEIIis/status/1335305813221629952
Poor finishing from the Irons opened the door for a furious United comeback, and that’s exactly what happened after the break. Solskjaer subbed Bruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford on for Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani, and these two changes made all the difference to creating the cliche “tale of two halves.”
Paul Pogba, linked with a narrative earlier in the day that indicated he tried to leave the club in the summer, suffered through a brutal first half. However, he got the scoring party started in the second half with right footed blast from substantial difference.
This was only his second scoring strike since April of 2019. VAR checked to see if the service from goalkeeper Dean Henderson went out of bounds first, but the goal obviously stood. The 65′ goal was set up with an assist from Bruno Fernandes.
The Portugese magnifico is the side’s best player this season, and he showed why again, just carving up the Hammers defense.
Just a few minutes later, Mason Greenwood showed poise and balance with a sensational spin move that yielded his first Premier League goal of the season. He did a gymnast style tumble to celebrate in the 68.’
And then Marcus Rashford, MBE completed the scoring with a really nice finishing touch, with finesse on a great breakaway forward run in the 78′.
Fernandes and Rashford propelled United to their 5th straight away win, and even more stunning, they fell behind in all five. The victory now moved United up to 4th, now level on games played with the three teams ahead of them.
Chelsea host Leeds later today with first place Tottenham in the north London derby tomorrow. United are just two points off the pace for the top of the table, with second place Liverpool also in action tomorrow.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.