If we were to look into personal notes from Erik ten Hag before the game with West Ham at Old Trafford, he would probably write to himself: Get goals early, finally get a decent performance from Andre Onana and stay undefeated in 2024. And after today’s match, we can safely say that if those were his notes, they were all fulfilled: Manchester United – West Ham 3-0. The Red Devils are definitely out of the result crisis and are yet to be defeated in 2024 – with today’s win, their record is four wins and one draw. The other worrying column is also looking good now: Having scored 12 goals in their final 11 matches of 2023, Erik ten Hag’s side has already matched that total in their previous four games and added two more today. Manchester players even used today’s victory to shrink the defensive stats. Before West Ham, they conceded seven goals in their last three games – five of which came against Wolves and League Two side Newport, but today they kept a clean sheet.4 – On his 21st birthday, Rasmus Højlund has become the youngest player to score in four consecutive Premier League appearances for Manchester United. Fantastic. pic.twitter.com/hxZimOL41T— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 4, 2024 United also continued their superiority over West Ham when it comes to Premier League duels as they remained unbeaten in their last 16 games (13 wins, three draws), so this could be named a ‘perfect day’ for United’s fans. The same cannot be said for the Gunners, who missed their chances and were punished for it, and they (unlike United) remain without a single win in 2024. Coach David Moyes, still without injured Lucas Paqueta and Michail Antonio, who are his key players along with Jarod Bowen, had to put defender Ben Johnson in midfield, and Bowen was again deployed as a false nine. Newly acquired Kalvin Phillips had a rough debut against Bournemouth and was benched, while Nayef Aguerd was inserted into the starting line-up after coming back from AFCON.It was West Ham with the first chance of the match, but Onana made the first out of a couple of good saves today when he saved Soucek’s header. In general, the Hammers were solid, with 49% of possession and 22 shots on goal (compared to United’s 12) but their lack of a proper striker resulted in no goals. Fernandes then forced Areola’s save after a fantastic strike from 30 meters, and then Hojlund continued his scoring streak to four consecutive games. Emerson had a huge miss just in the first minutes of the second half and the punishment came immediately, as Garnacho used his chance and scored in the 49th minute. From that point on, West Ham just couldn’t make a comeback, even though they had chances through Jonhson or Alvarez, but either Onana saved or United’s defenders came to save the goal. Garnacho used a pass from McTominay five minutes before the end of the game and resolved any dilemmas. ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE – MATCHDAY 23SaturdayEverton – Tottenham 2-2 (1-2)/Harrison 30, Branthwaite 90+4 – Richarlison 4, 41/Brighton – Crystal Palace 4-1 (3-0)/Dunk 3, Hinshelwood 33, Buonanotte 34, Joao Pedro 85 – Mateta 71/Burnley – Fulham 2-2 (0-2)/Fofana 71, 90+1 – Palhinha 17, Muniz 21/Newcastle – Luton 4-4 (1-1)/Longstaff 7, 23, Trippier 67, Barnes 73 – Osho 21, Barkley 40, Morris 59 pen, Adebayo 62/Sheffield Utd – Aston Villa 0-5 (0-4)/McGinn 12, Watkins 16, Bailey 20, Tielemans 30, Moreno 47/SundayChelsea – Wolverhampton 1-4 (1-2)/Palmer 19 – Cunha 22, 63, 82 (p), Disasi (og) 43/Bournemouth – Nott.Forest 1-1 (1-1)/Kluivert 5 – Hudson-Odoi 45/Man. Utd. – West Ham 3-0 (1-0)/Hojlund 23, Garnacho 49, 84/19:30: (2.40) Arsenal (3.50) Liverpool (3.05)Monday23:00: (7.50) Brentford (4.90) Man.City (1.40)***odds are subject to change***
