Liverpool and Tottenham top four chances boosted by David de Gea's blunder

Manchester United suffer defeat to West Ham

Liverpool and Tottenham top four chances boosted by David de Gea's blunder

Faruq Ibrahim 21:05 - 07.05.2023

Manchester United were on the wrong end of a 1-0 score line at the London Stadium, threatening their top-four spot.

Manchester United were lacklustre for huge chunks of proceedings, but it was an error by David de Gea that ensured West Ham beat Manchester United 1-0. 

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The Red Devils turned up at the London Stadium looking to shake off the midweek defeat to Brighton and keep a strong hold on the top four, but their lethargic performance was a bad matchup against West Ham, fighting for survival. 

How it happened

Following Newcastle's defeat to Arsenal earlier in the day, the highest possible third-position finish looked increasingly likely, and all they had to do was beat West Ham. 

They did get going after a slow start, threatening Fabianski's goal with Marcus Rashford looking lively; however, they failed to find the opener.  

On the other end of the pitch, the Red Devils' starting shot stopper, De Gea, got his positioning all wrong, and in a last-ditch attempt to track back, he was caught off balance by a Said Benrahma attempt. Despite his right hand reaching the ball, he struggled to generate enough power to stop it from nestling in the back of the net 

The Spaniard's blunder and Benrahma's intelligent play gave the Hammers a 27th-minute lead, and the goal served to spur them on as they started to dominate the encounter. 

David Moyes' side thought they made it two, with De Gea the culprit again as he was weak defending a set piece, but the referee looked kindly towards his plight and judged that he had been fouled.  

The Red Devils had a late flurry, but Fabianski, unlike his opposite number, was up to the task, ensuring the Algerian's strike was enough to earn them all three points.  

The win takes the Hammers up to 37 points, a little away from safety, while the Red Devils will now have to look over their shoulders with Liverpool hot on their heels.  

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