United lay down marker
Solskjaer praises injury-hit side for kicking off ‘massive’ week with victory over West Ham
This was always going to be a week where there was little margin for error for Manchester United so Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will have been as pleased as he was doubtless relieved that it got off on the right footing.
West Ham had the opportunity to close the gap on United to three points but a lack of ambition narrowed that window here and enabled Solskjaer’s side to take another significant step towards Champions League qualification while dealing a setback to their opponents’ own top-four hopes.
Nine points now separate United, in second, from West Ham, in fifth, and while this was not a performance that will live long in the memory, and goals are still proving hard to come by, Solskjaer will not be too concerned about anything but results during a potential make-or-break week.
United travel to AC Milan in the second leg of their Europa League round of 16 tie on Thursday, after a 1-1 draw in the first game and, three days later, visit Leicester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals.
After losing four semi-finals over the past year, Solskjaer is desperate to get his hands on a trophy, and with Manchester City boasting a 14-point lead at the top of the Premier League, the Milan and Leicester games are vital if United are to have any hope of avoiding a fourth season without silverware.
Their prospects should be boosted by the news that Edinson Cavani, Anthony Martial and Donny van de Beek are all likely to return from injury and possibly Paul Pogba, too, while David De Gea will also be available after a short period of self-isolation.
“We want to improve on last season, we want to get to a final, we want move up the table. This week was always going be massive,” Solskjaer said. “The reaction to the disappointment after the late goal Milan scored [last Thursday] was really good. You never know how that can affect you and it looked like everyone wanted to show what they could do.”
West Ham supporters may wonder where a little more adventure might have got them last night. Their determination to keep it tight seemed to come at the expense of any attacking intent and, with Jesse Lingard ineligible to face his parent club, they lacked an outlet on the break. It was not until they fell behind after Craig Dawson turned Bruno Fernandes’s corner into his own net and David Moyes dispensed with his back three and introduced Manuel Lanzini and Said Benrahma that they began to ask more questions.
After a frustrating first period when United were mostly too static to disrupt West Ham’s deep defence and the sight of an angry Harry Maguire telling his team-mates to “f------ tidy up and stop giving the f------ ball away” was telling, the goal was well-timed for United.
From a corner, Fernandes dropped the ball into that danger area in the six-yard box where Dawson, under pressure from Maguire, headed into his own net.
He had a good game, Maguire, and, alongside the lively Mason Greenwood and Luke Shaw, was one of United’s best performers, making vital blocks to thwart Jared Bowen and Tomas Soucek.
Greenwood, too, threw his heart into this and the only thing lacking was a goal, even if, naturally, that will be a concern for a striker who last found the net in the Premier League in early December. United, generally, are struggling for goals, though. They may have kept five clean sheets in their past six games but have only scored four in that time. Still, Greenwood did not look like a player short of confidence.
In the absence of Cavani and Martial, he led the line with industry and intelligence, creating chances for others and unlucky not to score himself. Marcus Rashford, who looked unfit after being rushed back from an ankle injury, made a mess of a close-range header after Greenwood picked him out with a fine cross midway through the first period. And then only a superb Lukasz Fabianski save denied him that elusive goal, the goalkeeper tipping a low curling shot just wide of a post.
With West Ham trying to find a route back in the final half an hour, United had more space on the break and Greenwood must have thought his drought was about to end only for the post to deny him after another surge forward.
“His performance was really good, he deserved a goal,” Solskjaer said. “He linked the play for us, held it up, kept switching it, had the two great chances and he kept creating chances for others.”
Clear daylight restored and, after the gloom that has gradually descended over Brighton in 2021, it was the flashes of authentic attacking quality that will surely most enthuse manager Graham Potter.
A first win in seven matches was inspired by Danny Welbeck who, while not scoring himself, produced two wonderful creative first touches in the build-up to goals by Lewis Dunk and Leandro Trossard.
With Adam Lallana then also providing such calming authority in possession and Dunk typically dominant in defence, Brighton duly saw out a deserved victory that lifted them three points ahead of Fulham and the relegation zone with a game in hand. A fixture against Newcastle United next could provide a further step towards safety, even if Southampton – whose brief Premier League lead in November now feels a long time ago – stand as a reminder of how transient form can be.
There were promising signs here for a Brighton team whose recent points haul has reflected deficiencies in front of goal rather than more serious wider weaknesses.
“We have had to suffer recently and we got the rewards,” Potter said.
It was also vindication for the risk last summer in recruiting Welbeck and Lallana at stages in their careers when susceptibility to injury is an obvious concern. Potter called them “free transfers with huge personality, experience and quality”.
Southampton did gain an early hold of possession, but it was Brighton who always looked more threatening when they did break within range of goal.
A delightful Welbeck backheel was an indirect catalyst for the first goal, with Neal Maupay running on to the pass before forcing a onehanded save from Fraser Forster.
From the resulting corner, Pascal Gross floated the ball deliberately into space just inside the penalty area where Dunk had arrived. Che Adams was closest for Southampton and, while there was never much doubt that Dunk would outjump him for the header, few could have expected such power and precision into the corner of Forster’s goal.
It was a lead that would last only 11 minutes. Ryan Bertrand then headed Stuart Armstrong’s cross back along the six-yard box towards Adams and, with Dunk only able to glance his attempted headed clearance, the ball looped up into the path of the Southampton striker.
Adams had waited a year for his first Southampton goal, but duly made it three in as many games by smashing his volley inside Robert Sanchez’s near post.
The earlier pattern then resumed. Southampton appeared on the front foot with respect to possession and territory, but the greater goal threat belonged to Brighton.
One move deserved to win any match. Lallana, on his return to Southampton, had picked out Welbeck on the edge of the penalty area. And, with one deft touch, Welbeck brilliantly dissected the Southampton defence to release Trossard to finish emphatically past Forster.
More than 30 minutes remained, but Southampton created only one really clear chance when Adams forced Sanchez into an excellent save.
This was Southampton’s 10th defeat since the turn of the year and manager Ralph Hasenhuttl was scathing after the match.
“I had the feeling the opponent wanted it a little bit more,” he said. “I don’t like how we responded to the second goal. There was no power, no energy in the team. It was far away from what we wanted. We are not hungry enough and the basics are missing. It was one of the worst games we have played this season.”
manager under fire for his conservative approach, while West Brom counterpart edges towards his first top-flight drop
As the Premier League’s two oldest managers – both former England bosses – headed for the Selhurst Park exit on Saturday, the fate of their two sides was almost sealed. For Crystal Palace, safety beckons. For West Bromwich Albion, a return to the Championship looks almost inevitable. But for both Roy Hodgson and Sam Allardyce, the future remains uncertain.
The combined age of the four coaches overseeing this Crystal Palace victory was 265, when adding Hodgson (73) and Allardyce (66) to their vociferous lieutenants Ray Lewington (64) and Sammy Lee (62).
Experience counts for much in football, but there remains a distinct possibility none of them will be in their respective roles next season.
These three points, earned through Luka Milivojevic’s penalty after a Darnell Furlong handball, took Palace up to 37 points and all but assured top-flight status next season, but it will have done little to quell supporter unrest over a lack of intent and ambition.
Hodgson, whose contract expires this summer, is on the cusp of again delivering Premier League stability. But for those fans longing for imagination beyond hoping Wilfried Zaha produces a moment of magic, such a dour approach has reached its expiry date. From the starting line-up Hodgson selected for his first Premier League victory four seasons ago, only two players are not still at the club: Julian Speroni and Yohan Cabaye. Thirteen firstteam players will be free agents at the end of the season, including Gary Cahill, Andros Townsend and Christian Benteke.
Hodgson has recently warned fans about the dangers of overambition and continues to deflect talk of his own future, instead focusing solely on pushing the points tally to the stage where safety is confirmed.
“A defeat would have had us looking over our shoulder a lot more than we need to do,” he said. “But nine games [remaining] is a lot.
“Last season, we went into that post-lockdown period where we couldn’t handle three games a week and we had the worst run of my management career. We’re aware we don’t want that to happen again.”
Allardyce, who answered West Brom’s SOS call in December, looks highly likely to lose his record of never being relegated from the top flight. West Brom have now failed to score from open play in their past five games, prompting the manager to bemoan the lack of “a natural goalscorer”, and they now sit 10 points from safety.
Allardyce’s contract has a break clause should West Brom be relegated and it is doubtful whether he would want to manage in the Championship. Chris Wilder, now available after his Sheffield United departure, is an option for both clubs, while Eddie Howe and Sean Dyche have both been touted as possible targets should Palace not offer Hodgson a new contract.
Is staying in the Premier League enough to keep Hodgson for another year? Is departing the top flight the death knell for Allardyce?
Crystal Palace captain Luka Milivojevic backed team-mate Wilfried Zaha’s decision to become the first Premier League player not to take the knee before the victory over West Bromwich Albion. “We spoke Friday a little about it and I support him 100 per cent,” Milivojevic said. “We are taking the knee to show an example to people that we are against racism. Wilfried’s gone a little bit further – I respect him 100 per cent.”