ANALYSIS
WHAT WE LEARNED
GETTING THE BEST OF FERNANDES
THIS was a game that always looked like being decided by fine margins and in the end it was no surprise that Bruno Fernandes helped to provide United’s winner.
There may have been an element of fortune about it, with Craig Dawson heading past his own goalkeeper, but the delivery was bang on the money from the Portuguese playmaker.
Fernandes had looked like the likeliest source of a United goal, finding pockets of space outside the West Ham box and looking for sharp interchanges of play with the forwards.
There’s no secret to just how important Fernandes is to this team, but in the absence of Paul Pogba it only intensifies. A fit and fresh Fernandes is going to be key to United in the final couple of months of the season.
By this time next week we’ll know if United’s ambitions of silverware remain intact, with the second leg of the Europa League tie against AC Milan on Thursday and an FA Cup quarter-final at Leicester City on Sunday.
If they can navigate both, then the international break provides some respite and if Fernandes doesn’t go away with Portugal, as expected, it provides the perfect chance for him to rest.
If he does take two weeks off at this stage of the season, it might give United a major boost come April. A refreshed Fernandes can fire them to a trophy, as long as they can remain in the hunt this week.
HENDERSON’S DISTRIBUTION
THIS was a 10th clean sheet of the season for Dean Henderson, but it could yet be his final Premier League appearance of the campaign.
With David de Gea due back in training this week, we will have to wait and see if Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s opinion of who his No. 1 is has changed.
Other than failing to keep out Simon Kjaer’s header against AC Milan on Thursday, the 24-year-old Henderson has done his chances no harm.
He was solid again against West Ham and there another side of his game we saw in his ability to kick the ball a long way.
A couple of times against the Hammers he managed to propel the ball the best part of 70 yards downfield. A keeper who can kick it so close to the opposition penalty area can make the pitch considerably bigger, giving his team space to play out as well. It’s another string to Henderson’s bow.
THE PROBLEM WITH FRED
THIS was one of those games where it was more noticeable what the Brazilian can’t do rather than what he can. He might be excellent at disrupting attacks, at making life difficult for elite teams, but when United are dominating the ball he can be far too limited.
His radar was off and it felt telling that he was often the United midfielder with the most space, as if the opposition had identified him as the weak link.