
Manchester United came from behind to beat West Ham at a buoyant Old Trafford.
Fresh off the Carabao Cup success, Erik ten Hag named a weaker side than many expected, and it showed in a disjointed first half.
The impressive Said Benrahma scored the opener after United fell asleep, and West Ham briefly threatened to spoil the Carabao party.
Michail Antonio had a chance to put the game to bed at 1-0 but fired straight at David de Gea. United equalised in the cruellest way, with Nayef Aguerd turning into his own net from a corner.
Despite an overall decent performance, West Ham's lack of depth was telling, as Man United started to dominate after bringing on their star players.
The game looked like heading into extra-time until the 90th minute, when player of the match Alejandro Garnacho hit a spectacular curling effort past Alphonse Areola. Fred ended the game as a contest five minutes later, as United continue their quest for a quadruple.
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Story of the Match
United came into the match on the back of a hectic recent schedule, with Erik ten Hag making six changes. Top scorer Marcus Rashford was replaced by Garnacho, while Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof and Tyrell Malacia came in for Lisandro Martinez, Raphael Varane and Luke Shaw respectively.
In midfield, Marcel Sabitzer and Scott McTominay replaced the Brazilian duo of Fred and Casemiro.
West Ham made four changes from their win against Nottingham Forest. Lukasz Fabianski and Vladimir Coufal were injured, with Areola and Emerson Palmieri taking their places, while Jarrod Bowen was rested in favour of Pablo Fornals. Danny Ings, who scored a brace at the weekend, was cup tied.
Both teams made disjointed starts, with possession being lost several times in the opening stages. West Ham had the majority of useful possession, but were often sloppy with their final ball.
The home side had the first big chance of the game, with Sabitzer forcing a good save from Areola within six minutes. Both Antony and Garnacho also had decent attempts on goal as United briefly threatened to turn the screw.
Despite this, by far the best chance of the first half fell to Antonio. Put through one-on-one by Benrahma, he forced a decent save from David de Gea mid-way through the half.
Clear cut chances were few and far between after that, although the impressive Benrahma remained as West Ham's main orchestrator. At the other end, Ben Johnson managed to keep Garnacho quiet as both sides failed to put the finishing touches on some nice passing moves.
Much to the annoyance of the home ground, both Maguire and McTominay were booked in the only other notable moments of opening 45 minutes. Casemiro replaced the Scot after half time.
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A Hammer Blow?
With the Brazilian on, United looked more comfortable at the start of the second half, with Weghorst firing over after a nice interchange.
However, West Ham landed the first punch. United players switched off thinking the ball had gone out of play, but Emerson reacted to lay the ball to Benrahma. The Algerian produced an excellent finish, bending the ball past de Gea in the 54th minute.
Erik ten Hag reacted quickly, bringing on Rashford and Martinez in place of Antony and Lindelof.
Despite the changes, West Ham had the next clear cut chance. Antonio did well to beat Martinez but failed to really work de Gea from another one-on-one; he was later replaced by Gianluca Scamacca after an overall disappointing performance.
Casemiro thought he had hit back in the 70th minute, but replays showed he was clearly offside.
Nevertheless, United continued to apply pressure, and Aguerd was the unlucky victim as he turned into his own net from a corner.
The Red Devils had all the possession after this, but created few clear-cut chances as the game threatened to go to extra-time. That was until the 90th minute; Weghorst's blocked shot fell straight to Garnacho, who took a lovely touch and curled an impressive finish into the far corner.
It looked as though both teams were settling for the result, with United trying their best to close the game out.
Rashford fired narrowly wide, but in the very last minute Weghorst again did well, winning the ball back and laying it off to Fred. The Brazilian made no mistake, firing down the middle in almost the last kick of the game.
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Player of the Match
Although there were some good displays from West Ham players - notably Benrahma - Garnacho won the player of the match award. Although he had a quiet first half, he got the better of Johnson several times in the second half and was always a threat.
His goal capped a mature display. Fans will hope he can build on this and perfect his decision making; if he does, he could be a formidable player for United in the coming years.

