Premier league full time report: Manchester United vs West Ham United (3-0)
In their third game of the Premier League season, Manchester United hosted West Ham United in what promised to be a truly remarkable contest. Manchester United were disappointed with their performance when they visited Fulham at Craven Cottage, as they were held to a frustrating 2-2 draw.
Former United player, Mark Hughes took over the reign at Fulham and even though the Red Devils were in front twice in the match, it took an emphatic come back from the home team to deny the 18 time champions all three points. United’s luck at Craven Cottage has come under heavy fire as the team lost 2 times in 9 months at that stadium. Prior to that defeat, United were undefeated at Fulham for over 45 years.
United now looked to get back into the title race, as they hosted West Ham United at Old Trafford. United took a first half lead, thanks to a goal from Wayne Rooney from the penalty spot. West Ham United defender Spector brought down veteran Ryan Giggs in the six yard box to award the penalty to the home side. It had been 13 games since the Manchester United forward had scored a goal for club and country, but finally broke the dead lock as he sent English team mate Robert Green to the other side to register his first goal in the 10/11 season. At half time, United were firmly in control, even though they would have liked a few more goals on the score board.
At the start of the second half, United continued their impressive run in, creating various opportunities for themselves. The second goal of the game came from Portuguese winger Nani, who was expertly set up by Rooney. The speedy winger found himself in front of goal, thanks to an inch perfect spot from Rooney and expertly made room for himself, before launching the ball towards goal. It was too much for Robert Green to handle as the ball hit the back of the net, giving Nani a much needed confidence boost after his penalty miss at Craven Cottage last week.
Had Ferguson handpicked the player he would have wanted to score, Nani and Rooney would be topping that list. Both of them needed a much needed confidence boost following their disappointments and were delighted to find themselves on the scoring sheet. Berbatov has been phenomenal for the Red Devils and was seen toying around with the Hammers defence almost at will. He along with midfielder Paul Scholes and Ryan Giggs combined well together, creating numerous opportunities for the likes of Rooney and Nani. Berbatov created a well treaded opportunity for Nani, only to be wasted by the Portuguese international.
The host team were firmly in control of proceedings in the second half and did not look to be stopping any time soon. At the hour mark, Hammers captain Upson was booked for his trip on Wayne Rooney. Grant made his first substitution of the match as Mexican midfielder Pablo Barrera replaced Jullian Faubert. Dimitar Berbatov’s hard work finally paid off in the 69th minute as the Bulgarian scored his 3rd goal of the season. Nani found the striker looming around on the far post and lobbed the ball towards him. Berbatov utilized the volley well to smash the ball right into the net to take the score line to 3-0. That goal seemingly wrapped up the game for the hosts as the Hammer did not look to come back from such a thumping. Manchester United made their three substitutions in the form of Michael Owen (for Dimitar Berbatov), Michael Carrick (for Paul Scholes) and Chris Smalling (for Johnny Evans); United still seemed to hunt for more goals as they attacked in numbers.
The Old Trafford crowd have been given a performance by their beloved team which must be their money’s worth. Manchester United earned all three points from this fixture, plunging them back into the title race. Leaders, Chelsea thrashed Stoke City 2-0 earlier, maintaining their 100% record in the Premier League. United would be happy with their overall performance, especially with the performance of Dimitar Berbatov, who has greatly improved in his summer break.
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