Paul Pogba substituted after 70 minutes as defeat confirms Man Utd's worst start to a season in 29 years
Sunday 30 September 2018 17:31, UK
West Ham piled more pressure on Jose Mourinho with a 3-1 victory over Manchester United at the London Stadium.
Paul Pogba returned after his midweek spat with Mourinho, but it took just five minutes for things to unravel as record signing Felipe Anderson scored his first West Ham goal with a deft near-post flick.
A miserable first half for the visitors was compounded two minutes before the break when Andriy Yarmolenko's shot took a wicked deflection off Victor Lindelof to double the Hammers' lead.
Marcus Rashford halved the deficit just after the underwhelming Pogba had been substituted on 70 minutes, but Marko Arnautovic extinguished any hopes of a comeback with his fourth goal of the season four minutes later.
West Ham's first home league victory since the final day of last season lifts them to 12th in the table. Manchester United drop to eighth - eight points off leaders Liverpool having played a game more - after equalling their worst start to a Premier League season.
All the talk ahead of kick-off concerned Pogba and Mourinho after a turbulent week off the pitch, but an industrious West Ham display laid Manchester United's on-field troubles bare.
Mark Noble's incisive through pass released Pablo Zabaleta, who was marginally offside, in behind Ashley Young, and the full-back's low cross was brilliantly diverted past David de Gea by Anderson inside five minutes.
The visitors steadied after falling behind but attempts on goal were sporadic. Anthony Martial headed a Young cross wide from an offside position before a Romelu Lukaku header clipped the outside of the post midway through the first half.
Just as had been the case against Everton and Chelsea, a resolute defensive display proved key for West Ham, who doubled their lead with a touch of fortune.
Yarmolenko gathered the ball in the area, fashioned a yard of space to get a shot away and his effort struck Lindelof at close range before looping over the helpless De Gea.
A stunning point-blank save from Lukasz Fabianski to claw a Marouane Fellaini header off the line preserved West Ham's two-goal lead on 64 minutes.
Six minutes later Mourinho withdrew the ineffective Pogba but United were on the board within 60 seconds as substitute Rashford brilliantly diverted a corner beyond Fabianski with a near-post flick.
But any momentum gained from that strike lasted just four minutes as Noble's brilliant through ball dissected the Manchester United defence and released Arnautovic, who drilled a low shot past De Gea to wrap up the victory and pile more misery on Mourinho.
Manchester United lined up with four recognised central midfielders - including the returning Pogba - in their team, but it was West Ham's captain who stole the limelight. Noble was the heartbeat of the latest improved Hammers performance but did so much more than leg-work in the middle of the park, as seen with his incisive assist for Arnautovic's game-clinching strike.
Things could have been different had Zabaleta been flagged offside in the build-up to West Ham's opening goal. But pinning Manchester United's defeat on that decision would be disingenuous to the Hammers, who were well worth their victory. This game did not hinge on that goal. Manchester United's troubles at present run much deeper than that.
West Ham travel to Brighton on Friday Night Football - live on Sky Sports Premier League. Manchester United resume their Champions League campaign at home to Valencia on Tuesday before hosting Newcastle at Old Trafford at tea-time on Saturday.
