London club West have knocked out the five-time winners Manchester United out of the EFL Carabao Cup in the fourth-round clash at Old Trafford.
West Ham made a flying start to the game. In the ninth minute, Ryan Fredericks beat Jadon Sancho and Alex Telles before cutting a low cross back to Manuel Lanzini, who finished into the bottom corner. Lanzini goal was the solitary strike of the match, which proved enough to take the Hammers into the last 16.
The hosts introduced Bruno Fernandes and Mason Greenwood in the second half but it was West Ham who should have secured the result in the final minutes of the match. All of Andriy Yarmolenko, Mark Noble, and Jarrod Bowen missed glaring opportunities but it didn’t matter in the end.
The result was the Hammers’ first win at the Old Trafford since Carlos Tevez’s matchwinner in 2007 that kept West Ham in the Premier League on the last day. As for the hosts, the result ended Manchester United manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer hopes of securing the first available title of the season. United’s wait for a trophy now stretches back to 2017.
Manchester United’s Mini-crisis
Solskjaer rang some changes but the different-look side was by no means weak. The team was full of internationals but the fringe players failed to deliver. Anthony Martial continued his recent struggles while Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard failed to make a notable impact. Solskjaer’s men are going through a mini-crisis of sorts following last week’s Champions League defeat at Young Boys.
On the other hand, West Man were imperious as they avenged the recent league defeat at the hands of the Red Devils. David Moyes’ men kept their hosts at bay in relative comfort apart from Mata clipping the bar and Hammer’s debutant keeper Alphonse Areola making a good save to deny Greenwood.
In other matches, Brighton beat Championship side Swansea 2-0 while Arsenal comfortably beat AFC Wimbledon 3-0. Both the Wolves-Tottenham and Chelsea-Aston Villa ties were decided on penalties with Chelsea and Spurs coming out triumphant.
