LONDON: Manchester United’s troubled season hit a new low on Saturday as Jose Mourinho saw his gamble on a new tactical system backfire with an insipid 3-1 Premier League defeat to improving West Ham United.
After a week in which he had dropped Paul Pogba as vice-captain and seen his men ousted from the League Cup, Mourinho watched United’s league title hopes dwindle further with a new-look set-up but the same old prosaic fare.
With Pogba so ineffectual that he was substituted after 70 minutes, Mourinho’s unfamiliar 3-5-2 line-up quickly capitulated as record signing Felipe Anderson scored his first Hammers’ goal with an audacious back-foot flick after five minutes.
Andriy Yarmolenko’s shot deflected off Victor Lindelof for an unlucky own goal just before the break to put the hosts up 2-0. Substitute Marcus Rashford gave the visitors hope with a clever volleyed 71st-minute flick, but Marko Arnautovic waltzed between United’s central defenders three minutes later to seal victory. The Hammers are now undefeated in their last three matches.
Man United’s 10 points equals the club’s worst return after the first seven matches of any season in the Premier League era, heaping more pressure on Mourinho, whose brand of football seems to be delivering neither points nor pleasure to United fans.
With their first home win of the season and only their second victory over Manchester United in 20 league matches, West Ham move up to 12th place with seven points.
