Manchester United maintain perfection but Sunday showing leaves question mark over title credential
David de Gea was the hero of the day for Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in London, after the Spaniard saved a penalty in a premier league game for the first time since October 2014, having conceded from all 21 he had faced.
It was a tough afternoon for Manchester United in London and the only positive to take away from the game is the win.
West Ham United, under David Moyes have become a very good side since the last season, finishing sixth in the league and starting this season well, until they fell to their first defeat at the hands of Manchester United, who made it 29 away league games unbeaten.
West Ham took the lead through a deflected effort from Said Benrahma on the stroke of the half hour. Raphael Varane was unfortunate as the ball hit him to divert it away from De Gea.
Cristiano Ronaldo made it four goals in three games since his return to the club five minutes later, beating Fabianski in the second time of asking after his effort was initially saved by the Pole.
Ole Gunner Solskjær's side then struggled to create clear-cut opportunities even if they have Cristiano Ronaldo, who could well feast on half chances. They were not helped by referee Martin Atkinson, who failed to award any of their won penalties.
Substitute Jesse Lingard snatched what was a late winner in the 89th minute, against the side with whom he spent the last season on loan, cutting inside and sending his effort past Fabianski.
However, there were more dramas to come as Manchester United were denied what was an obvious penalty after Kurt Zouma brought down Ronaldo in the area without making a contact with the ball, the referee allowed play to continue and United conceded a penalty on the other end, as Luke Shaw outstretched arm blocked Yarmolenko's cross.
Mark Noble was subbed on by David Moyes just to take the penalty. But the West Ham captain was to become the villain as his effort was saved by David de Gea and the away side claimed all the points.
As delightful as the final result is for Manchester United, the game highlighted how much the side still have to improve in order to be a strong contender for the league title.
Even after remaining unbeaten and joint league leaders, the draw at Southampton could still haunt United at the end of the season, as Chelsea and Liverpool have only dropped points when they played each other.
United continue their league campaign next Saturday when they host Aston Villa. Another match that will surely test the mettle of Solskjær's side. And with the quality of players at United, a lot of questions will be asked of the manager, if they continue to perform unconvincingly.
Afolabi Kehinde Hassan
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