Result: West Ham United hold firm to deny Manchester United
West Ham United have held Manchester United to a goalless draw at Old Trafford in their Premier League clash this afternoon.
The hosts were dominant in possession throughout the first half, but it was their opponents who looked the more threatening as David de Gea denied Victor Moses in a one-on-one opportunity, before Mauro Zarate headed over the bar from a corner.
West Ham continued to look the more dangerous side, and twice came agonisingly close to opening the scoring when a Chris Smalling clearance hit Zarate, whose touch sent the ball crashing against the post, before the woodwork was struck again moments later when Winston Reid met a Zarate corner with a header. United struggled to produce any clear opportunities before the break, Matteo Darmian fired high and wide from distance, while Smalling and Jesse Lingard saw efforts get blocked by their opponents’ resilient defence.
The visitors continued to break forwards with regularity in the second half, as De Gea denied Zarate in the bottom corner of the goal, before the former Inter Milan man fired wide from inside the penalty area moments later. Louis van Gaal’s side finally had a shot on target on the hour mark, when Anthony Martial picked out Marouane Fellaini, who tested Hammers shot-stopper Adrian from close range.
The hosts took confidence from Fellaini’s effort, and began to create more regular opportunities. Juan Mata drilled an effort wide from a decent position, before Bastian Schweinsteiger blazed an effort over the bar.
United came close to breaking the deadlock before the final whistle, as Memphis Depay teed up Martial inside the box, only for the youngster to fire narrowly wide, while Lingard missed the target from a similar position moments later.
