United lost 2-0 away to West Ham, their ninth road loss to a team in the top nine.

United had the better of the first half’s chances but couldn’t score, giving them a narrow advantage. When faced with Alphonse Areоla in a one-on-one match, Alejandro Garnacho in particular should have performed better.

After the half, both teams came out firing, but the home team finally broke through when Jarrod Bowen pounced on a beautiful chip from Lucas Paqueta and bundled it past Andre Onana.

The interval between the first goal and Mohamed Kudus’s second came in the space of six minutes. The Ghanaian took advantage of a mistake by Kobbie Mainoo, set up a one-two with Paqueta, and smartly finished into the bottom corner.

Consequently, United failed to win any of their nine away games against teams that were in the top nine at the start of the season in 2023. The Daily Star Sport detailed Erik ten Hag’s successes and failures as the situation that had started out promisingly deteriorated.

Correct – Youthful trust

Ten Hag’s trust in Mainoo, who was just 18 years old when he returned from a preseason ιnjury, has been rewarded with superb play in the past several weeks.

That may have been one factor in his choice to start 19-year-old Willy Kambwala instead of the sick Raphael Varane. There were no other senior center backs available to the Dutchman.

On the other hand, he could have used Sofyan Amrabat in defense, or perhaps Luke Shaw in that position with Sergio Reguilon on the left. He put his faith in Kambwala instead.

The young French defender, who is comparable to Mainoo in that he plays with an air of maturity beyond his years, had a fine start for the senior team.

United suckeԀ the life out of the Anfield crowd last weekend in a dull draw with Liverpool, according to Gary Neville, who was in charge of possession.

There was a lot of copying and pasting at the London Stadium, as former Hammer Joe Cole observed during the first half that the stadium was the quietest he had seen it in years.

West Ham’s recent home form has been great, and their support has been crucial, but they were unable to capitalize due to a lack of possession of the ball.

Offense – Midfield harmony

Scott McTominay would occasionally push forward beyond Bruno Fernandes, leaving Mainoo deep in midfield, even though United enjoyed the majority of the possession.

With that defense holed, United were vulnerable to the counterattacks that West Ham posed in the first half. Meanwhile, Scotland international McTominay was aimlessly wandering around.

At Anfield, Amrabat and Mainoo were fantastic, and Mainoo’s partner Christian Eriksen would have been a better fit.

The mistake is that you ignore it.

Ten Hag could have changed his mind near the park’s center with plenty of warnings and time before the first goal went in, but he chose not to.

He missed a golden opportunity to use Amrabat’s defensive prowess or Eriksen’s game-changing skills because neither player was called upon until the very end.

That was the deciding factor in a game that the Red Devils lost, and those same margins of victory might also be what land Ten Hag the sack.

Oops – Getting rid of Hojlund once more