Last-second Rashford goal moves United into fourth

Marcus Rashford was in the right place at the right time to give Manchester United an important win in the battle for fourth place at Old Trafford.

Action: It was a game of few chances in which Manchester United started off the better. Ralph Rangnick’s goal of the Red Devils having ‘control’ of games looked to finally be paying off.

United dominated possession but created little. The best chance of the first period coming after 20 minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo was centimetres away from latching on to Bruno Fernandes’ cross.

The half ended without any shots on target from either side but United did eventually force Alphonse Aréola – making his first Premier League start for the Hammers – when Fred found space but the French goalkeeper had no problems.

It took West Ham even longer to have an attempt when Michail Antonio found space in the United box but his shot when straight at De Gea after 77 minutes.

Ralph Rangnick was ambitious with his substitutions with Marcus Rashford, Edison Cavani, and the forgotten man Anthony Martial all coming on to try to win the game.

The gamble paid off at the death when in the second minute of three minutes of stoppage time when Martial found Cavani whose ball across the face of the West Ham goal was finished by Marcus Rashford. The forward scoring his second goal in as many games to send Old Trafford into raptures.

Big Picture: That win puts Manchester United back into the top four, although Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal could take that spot should they pick up positive results in their games in hand. Rangnick will be happy with the control United had on the game for much of the 90 minutes even if there was a lack of swashbuckling attacking football.

David Moyes knows that fourth place was always going to be difficult against teams as big and expensively constructed as United, Spurs, and Arsenal, and the Hammers have a real battle to stay up there. Still, they were defensively excellent for almost the entire game, limiting the hosts few chances.

Man of the Match: Harry Maguire has had a difficult season and may not have even played today if it hadn’t been for the absence of Victor Lindelöf. But with the captain’s armband on once again, the England defender gave one of his best performances of the season alongside Raphael Varane.

xG: Man Utd (1.67) 1-0 (0.27) West Ham

Fergieee timeeeee 💪🏾♥️ pic.twitter.com/bM3HRIkPa0

— Marcus Rashford MBE (@MarcusRashford) January 22, 2022