Sunday Mirror (Northern Ireland)
PREMIER LEAGUE
blow. Jesse Lingard’s progress has hit a flat spot and there were some slapstick contributions from the likes of Marcos Rojo and Chris Smalling.
He made amends but even
De Gea was not immune from error, his overweighted bowl-out evading Pogba and eventually leading to Anderson’s equaliser.
Thanks to Anthony Martial catching West Ham on the counter and being felled by
Ryan Fredericks, United could yet finish in a top-four position, but the gap they need to bridge to get close to City and Liverpool next season is chasmic.
Just look at those possession percentages. At 42-58, they were not emphatically in West Ham’s favour but, against teams of a mid-ranking, United should be in charge at Old Trafford. At least Pogba tried to exert some authority and, in the end, his confidence from 12 yards won the day.
Although he might have been making eyes at Real Madrid when he was away from his club home recently, his commitment to his current employers cannot be questioned. He looked to drive his team forward whenever the half-chance arose. But quite simply, penalty conversions apart, he is not in a rich vein of form.
He picked a few decent passes, was defensively useful at set-pieces and typically robust in the tackle.
Inspiration, though, was in short supply, from Pogba and from all the others in a red jersey.
But, under Solskjaer, the one thing they have done on a few occasions when form has been ordinary, is find a way to win. The way this time was through a Pogba pass, a Marcus Rashford flick, a Martial dart and that Fredericks foul.
It restores some United momentum ahead of Tuesday’s game in Barcelona and, more importantly, maintains that fighting chance of a top-four finish.
But if Woodward (above) is thinking he might be able to keep that injured hand out of the Glazers’ pockets this summer, he would be very much mistaken.