The beery Manchester United supporters, clutching their cans and bottles, chanted 'Viva Ronaldo' the moment they stepped foot onto the platform at Euston. They chanted it again at full-time in the London Stadium.
It segued into a paean to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer when it was David de Gea who truly deserved the acclaim. His rot of 40 successive penalties conceded ended in the most remarkable manner. Mark Noble, the ageing West Ham midfielder, was sent on as if he were a rugby penalty kicker and misfired with his one-shot. The last time De Gea saved a penalty was in April 2016, a time before Brexit and Trump's presidency.
De Gea dived left, rose his arm and sent the ball darting away from goal. The rejuvenation of the 'keeper continues and this was his most stirring contribution yet in the new season.
The United supporters were so delirious they forgot to immediately serenade De Gea even when he stopped for his post-match chat with the rights holder. 'Viva Ronaldo' restarted. De Gea was flanked by the teammate whose thunder he stole.
"Jesse Lingard, he wants to come home," chirped the Cockneys. London was only a temporary home for a United supporter who was first pictured in red, white and black when he was still sleeping in a crib.
Finally, West Ham fans were present for a Lingard blockbuster, only it was not in claret and blue. Finally, Solskjaer made a matchwinning substitution. Lingard, responsible for defeat in midweek, was responsible for victory at the end of the week. He has had some year.
In a first-half laden with momentum swings, the second was leaden. Solskjaer was again hesitant with his substitution strategy, delaying the arrivals of Lingard and Jadon Sancho until the 73rd minute. Solskjaer and Kieran McKenna first appeared to discuss a change in the 60th minute and David Moyes blinked first, sending on Andriy Yarmolenko. Cue a period of West Ham pressure.
Lingard had struggled to get involved, bar an inviting cross that none of his teammates seized on, until he received the ball in the West Ham area. Declan Rice, coveted by United, and the crowdpleasing Kurt Zouma, carelessly beckoned Lingard inside and he only needed a sniff. The muted celebration was on brand for Lingard 2.0/.
United have history with West Ham - the 1992 defeat, the 1995 draw et al. - and it made the finale all the more sweeter. The gall of West Ham to switch sports with Noble's entrance was unprecedented. Noble has scored 38 times from 12 yards and this was only the fifth failure - and his first since December 2016.
Ronaldo played his part. Cockneys celebrated Ronaldo's squandered openings as though they were a goal. He feeds off such bile and it was inevitable Ronaldo would silence them, even if he was grateful for Lukasz Fabianski's greasy gloves spilling the initial attempt. It is now four goals in three games back 'home'.
There is only so long opponents can contain the irrepressible Ronaldo. West Ham were indebted to Fabianski for a stop early in the second-half that seemed pivotal, although the United manager would rightly regard it as a bad finish from Ronaldo.
Wringing in the rain, Ronaldo grew desperate and attempted to procure a penalty by engineering contact from Vladimir Coufal. "S--t Lionel Messi," crowed the Londoners. The Video Assistant Referee was not objective with Zouma's scything late challenge before West Ham earned their own penalty.
Ronaldo's profligacy almost proved costly in a week that has ended successfully for him and United. They played with authority for large portions against West Ham but were dependent on the spontaneous brilliance of their homegrown product. The scenes at full-time, when De Gea was mobbed, would normally be reserved for a title run-in triumph.
What is bound to be a recurring theme of the season is Ronaldo receiving the acclaim and Solskjaer the opprobrium. United were a spotkick away from #Oleout trending again, the VAR convincing the erratic on-pitch official Martin Atkinson to penalise Luke Shaw for handball in stoppage-time.
Cautiously, though predictably, neither Scott McTominay nor Fred were sacrificed in the first round of changes as Paul Pogba and Mason Greenwood were hooked. Despite the attacking personnel of the entrants, it was uncertain whether Solskjaer was settling or attacking, particularly as Pogba had been the most reliable of the midfielders. To prolong the mystifying midfield situation, Nemanja Matic came on in the dying embers. Lingard vindicated the call.
The absence of a specialist defensive midfield addition has forced Solskjaer's hand in recalling McTominay and Fred. It was also the ultimate compliment Solskjaer could pay to Rice, potentially become the first transfer from West Ham to United since Paul Ince in 1989.
Reuniting McTominay with Fred was about as popular with United supporters as Pep Guardiola is with City fans whenever he discusses their taboo topic of vacant seats. McTominay and Fred were AWOL when the unattended Said Benrahma had oodles to shoot from the edge of the area, the ball spinning in off Raphael Varane. The pair were also lagging when Nikola Vlasic half-volleyed wide just prior to the pause.
United's win over Newcastle last week was blemished by some loose defending on the counter-attack with just Matic to hold the fort. The manner of the 4-1 victory has all but ensured Solskjaer will select a midfield axis more often than not this season.
The recall of McTominay underlined his status as the prime 'defensive' midfielder in the squad, ironic when Solskjaer has developed the Scot into a goal-getter. Matic's midweek bench role hinted at his starting role in London until McTominay convinced Solskjaer he was fit enough for a first start in five weeks. Matic strode onto the pitch with Donny van de Beek shortly after United had arrived; a certain sign he had been benched.
Guardiola's diatribe was not forgotten by the United supporters who chanted '20,000 empty seats, are you f-----g sure?' with particular gusto.
With Michail Antonio, West Ham's focal point, absent through suspension, the hosts were strikerless and dependent on the breakaways. Fred's passing was wasteful and McTominay uncharacteristically tentative once West Ham were galvanised by Harry Maguire's dithering defending. United lacked a polished passer in the centre until Pogba drifted inside and started to dominate.
Solskjaer was vexed by Greenwood's lack of threatening darts infield off the ball when on it he drifted past opponents as though they were training cones. Rice and Soucek guarded the West Ham goal vigilantly.
"Attack, attack, attack," the United supporters, separated by stages usually hogged by musicians, chanted late on. They got an encore and more.
