Marcus Rashford’s 100th Manchester United goal was enough to beat West Ham and provide a fitting tribute to a special 85th anniversary for the Old Trafford club.
Across 4,163 consecutive games since 1937, United have had an unbroken run of having a player who came through their youth development programme either in their starting line-up or on the bench.
Rashford is the cream of the current crop and it was the England player who scored the winner against a determined West Ham side at Old Trafford.
The 24-year-old powered home a firm header seven minutes from the break after Christian Eriksen had curled over a superb far-post cross, making Rashford the 22nd United player to reach 100 goals.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s name is also on that list but having been given a starting spot because of Antony’s injury, the Portuguese failed to capitalise, wasting one excellent second-half opportunity after he had been sent running into the penalty area by Rashford.
In a thrilling finish, David de Gea made fantastic saves to deny Michail Antonio and Kurt Zouma, before, with almost the final move of the game, the goalkeeper surplus to Spanish requirements turned away a thunderous Declan Rice effort.
The result was enough for United to extend their unbeaten run to eight matches and go fifth in the table, while West Ham’s inconsistency outside European competition leaves them 13th, just three points above the relegation zone.
Rashford joins Man Utd’s 100 club
Rashford could not be choosing a better time to find form given Gareth Southgate picks his England World Cup squad on 10 November.
It was the first time he has scored in successive games since January and with a bit more luck, might have taken his overall tally for the season beyond seven.
Within the opening 16 minutes, he had three efforts. For the first, he had the confidence to nip in ahead of Ronaldo to take an early shot from Diogo Dalot’s low cross, which went wide. Then his low shot was blocked by Tomas Soucek before it could threaten the West Ham goal before, finally, Rashford’s header was saved by Fabianski.
His landmark goal owed much to the patience of Dalot, who refused to be rushed into a quick throw by Casemiro and instead waited for Eriksen, who played a one-two with Bruno Fernandes before delivering the most brilliant of crosses.
Rashford drove another shot wide at the start of the second half but, apart from a Fred effort that came back off a post, the rest of the United heroes were at the other end of the pitch, with De Gea inspirational in keeping West Ham out.
More to follow.
Player of the match
de GeaDavid de Gea
Manchester United
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Squad number1Player namede GeaAverage rating
8.13
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Squad number20Player nameDiogo DalotAverage rating
7.82
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Squad number6Player nameMartínezAverage rating
7.67
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Squad number14Player nameEriksenAverage rating
7.56
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Squad number10Player nameRashfordAverage rating
7.55
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Squad number23Player nameShawAverage rating
7.17
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Squad number18Player nameCasemiroAverage rating
7.06
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Squad number7Player nameCristiano RonaldoAverage rating
6.50
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Squad number5Player nameMaguireAverage rating
6.48
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Squad number8Player nameBruno FernandesAverage rating
6.17
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Squad number17Player nameFredAverage rating
5.99
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Squad number39Player nameMcTominayAverage rating
5.85
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Squad number36Player nameElangaAverage rating
5.59
West Ham United
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Squad number41Player nameRiceAverage rating
6.70
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Squad number22Player nameBenrahmaAverage rating
6.54
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Squad number9Player nameAntonio
Average rating6.16
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Squad number20Player nameBowen
Average rating5.99
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Squad number15Player nameDawson
Average rating5.73
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Squad number13Player nameAreola
Average rating5.71
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Squad number4Player nameZouma
Average rating5.71
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Squad number12Player nameDownes
Average rating5.62
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Squad number1Player nameFabianski
Average rating5.59
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Squad number24Player nameKehrer
Average rating5.57
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Squad number3Player nameCresswell
Average rating5.56
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Squad number8Player nameFornals
Average rating5.54
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Squad number7Player nameScamacca
Average rating5.50
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Squad number28Player nameSoucek
Average rating5.41
Line-ups
Man Utd
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1de Gea
- 20Dalot
- 5Maguire
- 6Martínez
- 23Shaw
- 18Casemiro
- 14EriksenSubstituted forFredat 79′minutes
- 36ElangaSubstituted forMcTominayat 61′minutes
- 8Bruno FernandesBooked at 90mins
- 10Rashford
- 7Cristiano Ronaldo
Substitutes
- 12Malacia
- 17Fred
- 25Sancho
- 28Pellistri
- 30Bishop
- 31Dúbravka
- 34van de Beek
- 39McTominay
- 49Garnacho
West Ham
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1FabianskiSubstituted forAreolaat 45′minutes
- 24KehrerBooked at 78mins
- 15Dawson
- 4Zouma
- 3Cresswell
- 28SoucekBooked at 72mins
- 41Rice
- 20Bowen
- 12DownesSubstituted forFornalsat 77′minutes
- 22Benrahma
- 7ScamaccaBooked at 36minsSubstituted forAntonioat 57′minutes
Substitutes
- 2Johnson
- 5Coufal
- 8Fornals
- 9Antonio
- 10Lanzini
- 13Areola
- 21Ogbonna
- 32Coventry
- 33Emerson
- Referee:
- Chris Kavanagh
- Attendance:
- 73,682
Match Stats
Live Text
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Match ends, Manchester United 1, West Ham United 0.
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Second Half ends, Manchester United 1, West Ham United 0.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by David de Gea.
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Attempt saved. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top right corner.
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Attempt blocked. Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) right footed shot from very close range is blocked. Assisted by Pablo Fornals.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Lisandro Martínez.
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Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
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Foul by Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United).
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Jarrod Bowen (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by Lisandro Martínez.
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Attempt blocked. Declan Rice (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Saïd Benrahma.
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Foul by Casemiro (Manchester United).
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Michail Antonio (West Ham United) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Fred (Manchester United) hits the right post with a header from the centre of the box. Assisted by Scott McTominay.
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Attempt missed. Kurt Zouma (West Ham United) right footed shot from the centre of the box is high and wide to the right. Assisted by Craig Dawson with a headed pass.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by David de Gea.
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Attempt saved. Kurt Zouma (West Ham United) header from the centre of the box is saved in the top left corner. Assisted by Aaron Cresswell with a cross.
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Corner, West Ham United. Conceded by David de Gea.
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Attempt saved. Michail Antonio (West Ham United) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the top centre of the goal. Assisted by Declan Rice.
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Foul by Casemiro (Manchester United).
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