Manchester United’s hopes of breaking into the Premier League top five were dashed after a 1-1 draw against West Ham United at Old Trafford. Matchday 14 of the Premier League 2025/26 season saw Diogo Dalot open the scoring for the home side in the second half, but Soungoutou Magassa’s late equalizer denied them a crucial victory. The result leaves United in eighth place, while West Ham remain in the relegation zone.
Summary of the contest
In what was a goalless first half, the hosts were pretty much flat barring a few minutes of dominance. Bryan Mbeumo’s goal-bound cross was saved acrobatically by Alphonse Areola. Joshua Zirkzee saw his header get saved by a goal line clearance and Bruno Fernandes’ shot shaved the post on the volley.
In the 58th minute, a well-placed shot from Dalot handed Manchester United the lead. However, they failed to capitalize on their advantage with several missed chances, including a big opportunity for Matheus Cunha.
West Ham were always in the contest and capitalized when Magassa leveled the score in the 83rd minute with his first goal for the club. Jarrod Bowen, who was solid throughout, earned the corner before Magassa showed his prowess and sent West Ham fans into wild celebrations.
Reaction from Amorim and Nuno
Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim said, :We should have closed the game with the ball because the game was there to win. We knew that we needed to defend the advantage far from our goal but the long ball, Bowen won the first touch and took it to the corner and tried to win the corner. They won the corner and we cannot suffer a goal.”
“I think the overall performance was not perfect. We had our moments but we lost control in the game in some minutes in the first half and in the second half, especially after the goal. The game was clearly ours to win and we had an opportunity with Cunha to finish the game,” he added.
Speaking to Sky Sports, West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo said, “We should be proud of the work of the boys, they work really hard to contain Man Utd. We went for the game. The boys worked really hard. We have to be glad.
“I was happy [when the equaliser went in]. I was very, very happy because I think we were on top of the game in that moment, we had momentum.”
Manchester United miss chance to go 5th: A look at the points table
Manchester United could have gone 5th and level on points with Chelsea. However, they lacked the urgency and character. The draw means they are 8th after 14 matches. They have 22 points. This was their 4th draw of the campaign (W6 L4). Meanwhile, West Ham are placed 18th and remain in relegation zone.
Unwanted record for the Red Devils against West Ham
As per Opta, Manchester United have only won one of their last six Premier League games against West Ham (D1 L4). They are also winless in the last three (D1 L2). This is their longest winless streak against the Hammers in the competition since a four-game run between February 2015 and November 2016 (D3 L1).
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