Manchester United 1-0 West Ham United: Five Talking Points as the Red Devils break into the top 4 | Premier League 2021-22

Manchester United toppled West Ham United 1-0 to break into the Premier League Top 4 with virtually the final kick of the game.

The Red Devils were in the ascendancy for most of the game but failed to score a single goal to show for that. It was two of Ralf Rangnick's substitutes who combined to give the home side the winning goal late into stoppage time. This was when Edinson Cavani squared the ball for Marcus Rashford to tap in.

The win takes the Reds inside the top 4 of the Premier League standings, at least until Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur play their respective games. On the other end, it was another disappointing evening for the Hammers. They have now dropped points in five of their last eight games, losing four of them.

Let's look at the five talking points from the game.

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1. Manchester United guilty of lacklustre display in the final third

Ronaldo had Manchester United's best chance in the first half

Manchester United were dominant right from the beginning. They had more control over possession and the players were confident in front of their home crowd. They managed to threaten West Ham a lot in the first half and at the start of the second half as well.

However, they managed to make a mess out of every move at the final step. Cristiano Ronaldo missed a solid chance to score from Bruno Fernandes' cross.

Apart from that as well, either the final pass or the finishing, something went missing for United all night. They had 18 shots on goal but just three on target and two of them were in the dying moments of the game, including the goal.

Manchester United were spared today but football of this kind will not help them cling to the Champions League spot. This is especially when Arsenal look an altogether different team and Spurs are starting to find their groove under manager Antonio Conte.

2. Declan Rice proves his mettle yet again

It has been the norm this season for Declan Rice to be in a different strata to that of his team-mates or possibly any other player in midfield. It was nothing different at Old Trafford. It wouldn't be anyone's fault to watch him play and not guess his age correctly which is 23.

While the home side were crawling all over West Ham, Rice held his ground firmly and disrupted Manchester United's game. He only misplaced two passes in the whole 90 minutes and made more recoveries (12) and interceptions (4) than any other player on the pitch.

Rice has the ability to dictate games and also to disrupt games and the latter was on full display today. There will be quite a rush for his signature in the coming summer transfer window.

3. Manchester United improve considerably on the defensive end

Interim manager Ralf Rangnick had to replace Cristiano Ronaldo in their 3-1 win over Brentford in the last game to bring in Harry Maguire. It was evident that the German coach did not trust the team to hold firm even against Brentford, who have struggled to score goals as of late. Without the brilliance of David de Gea, United would have had a different result in hand against Brentford.

Rangnick emphasized the importance of winning 50/50 situations. He also openly said he couldn't have complained if they were 2-0 down after the first half against Brentford.

However, United have taken some strides forward from that and it showed on the pitch today. Both Maguire and Raphael Varane were very good at tracking West Ham's runners and did well in the build-up phases as well. Diogo Dalot had one of his best games in recent times and was involved in a lot of attacks. The only good chance West Ham had was through one mind-boggling solo run from Jarrod Bowen and through set pieces.

Otherwise it was a red shirt that was first to most of the loose balls in midfield and this is the path United would want to continue on.

4. Rangnick's substitutes do the trick

It is always good for a manager when his substitutes turn the game in his favor. However, it would be quite an oddity for all three substitutes to be involved in the winning goal. Rashford scored the winning goal, assisted by Cavani, while it was Anthony Martial who laid the ball off to the Uruguayan before the assist.

The good thing here is that Rangnick has got players on his bench who can be called upon to deliver. But the other side of the coin is - should these players have started?

United instantly looked better with Martial on the left side after replacing Mason Greenwood. He made good moves in the box and attracted attention from defenders. Martial even had a shot which could have been a goal if he executed it a tad better.

Rashford would have been better off trying to square up Coufal and run at him. However, Rangnick went with Anthony Elanga who has shown himself to be a runner. However, he didn't have a chance to showcase his runs behind the defense on Saturday. It was with the last kick that United won today due to substitutes but getting the starting lineup right is important too.

5. United get the job done but there is a lot of scope for improvement

It's brilliant to see Bruno Fernandes pop up all over the pitch, but that won't win anyone a football game. Rangnick spoke about not keeping Fernandes pinned and allowing him to move on the pitch. Despite that move, United don't have the right idea of attacking, it seems.

West Ham kept squeezing the pitch today while leaving spaces out wide but United hardly swung crosses in. It looked like United moved out wide only to drive straight into the congestion where West Ham would hoof it out without a second thought.

It would have been a better idea to create space out wide to get good crosses in and allow Ronaldo to attack those. West Ham chose their poison but they weren't made to pay. That is concerning as United struggled in the final third in both halves and it didn't get any better for them.

Another thing about United is the absence of a player who could hold it together like Declan Rice for West Ham. When an opponent gains some control, there is nobody in the United midfield who can settle things down - not Bruno and certainly not Fred and Scott McTominay.

They should target a player in the mold of Rice or even Rice himself in the next transfer window. But until then maybe they could think about giving Paul Pogba a run of games.