Manchester United dropped more valuable points at home as they squandered a second-half lead to draw 1-1 with West Ham, blowing the chance to move into the Premier League's top five. Diogo Dalot gave the underwhelming Red Devils the lead in the second half but they could not hold on to it, with Soungotou Magassa levelling late in the game as United failed to properly defend a corner.
United made a sluggish start to the game and there were shades of the previous home game against 10-man Everton as West Ham made the better start. Casemiro did well to slide in and turn a Mateus Fernandes shot over the bar which was going in. It took 24 minutes for the Red Devils to win their first corner but they slowly grew more hungry and more confident. Joshua Zirkzee saw a shot with his thigh cleared off the line by former United defender Aaron Wan-Bissaka and then Bruno Fernandes shaved the post on the rebound.
Amorim mercilessly took off Ayden Heaven at half-time after a shaky display from the 19-year-old, reinstating Leny Yoro after dropping him from the starting line-up. United continued to search for the first goal and found it through a stroke of luck and class. Casemiro's shot was going wide but it ended up at the feet of Dalot, who kept a cool head to finish from close range.
United were heading for fifth in the table but couldn't see out the win, weak defending from a corner allowing Magassa to pounce on the rebound in the 83rd minute. The hosts had enough time to conjure a winner but rarely looked like finding it, Fernandes blasting a desperate attempt wide deep in added time. So instead of sleeping in the Champions League spots, United were left in eighth, on course to miss out on European football once again.
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