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West Ham too good for Man United

Monday, September 23rd, 2019 00:00 |
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford reacts during their EPL clash against West Ham. 2. Liverpool’s Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane and Virgil van Dijk celebrate their team’s second goal against Chelsea. 3. Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang savours the moment after scoring the winning goal against Aston Villa. Photo/AGENCIES

London, Sunday 

Where does Ole Gunnar Solskjaer go from here? His team’s winless streak away from home in the Premier League stretches to seven following this dismal reverse at West Ham.

Whatever lustre conjured by the once-mighty Manchester United name is long gone. Solskjaer’s team are a complete mess.

Abysmal Man Utd

Granted allowances must be made for the absences of Paul Pogba, Anthony Martial and Luke Shaw but all teams suffer injuries.

What lies beneath the surface, when United have to draw on their squad, is pitiful and not fit for purpose. Then again, they hardly pull up many trees with their first XI either.

They may have got their second league win of the season last week against Leicester at home but that had more to do with how the visitors wilted in the expectation that they would take care of business.

That win, given to them by a penalty converted by Marcus Rashford, papered over the cracks at the club.

Here, against West Ham, they got exactly what they deserved in a 2-0 loss. There was no punch, no verve and the distinct lack of a plan. They beat Astana, narrowly, in midweek. That’s currently about their level. West Ham are too good for them.

They had what United didn’t; a busy midfield, a lively attack line and a striker who knows what he’s doing in Sebastien Haller.

‘Auba’ rescues Arsenal

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s stunning free-kick helped 10-man Arsenal come from behind to beat Aston Villa in a pulsating encounter at the Emirates Stadium.

Aubameyang curled home his seventh goal of the season with six minutes remaining to complete a remarkable turnaround for the Gunners, who had Ainsley Maitland-Niles sent off after 41 minutes.

John McGinn flicked home Anwar El Ghazi’s cross to put Villa ahead after 20 minutes before Maitland-Niles was shown a second yellow card.

Arsenal levelled early in the second period thanks to Nicolas Pepe’s first goal for the club from the penalty spot only for Wesley to restore Villa’s lead from Jack Grealish’s low cross less than two minutes later.

But in a thrilling final nine minutes, substitute Calum Chambers’ close-range finish brought the Gunners level before Aubameyang’s late strike secured their third Premier League win of the season to lift Unai Emery’s side back into the top four.

Liverpool soar

Liverpool made it six wins from six with a 2-1 triumph at Chelsea, who are still without a home win in the Premier League this season.

Frank Lampard’s men failed to contain the European champions, who benefited from two first-half injuries to a Chelsea defence that never looked comfortable.

Chelsea’s defensive record plummeted to a new low against Liverpool as they conceded for the 13th time in just six Premier League games.

Frank Lampard’s side are yet to keep a clean sheet amid their shaky start to the new campaign. Since opening the season with a 4-0 defeat at Manchester United, the likes of Leicester, Sheffield United, Norwich and Wolves have managed to breach the defence at least once. -Agencies 

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