After 4 consecutive wins with an average frequency of 1 match per week, Man United had their first draw under Michael Carrick. The Red Devils traveled to The Hammers' Olympic stadium and almost suffered defeat if it weren't for Benjamin Sesko's goal in the last minute.
Man United losing points against West Ham away from home is not surprising if you look at the previous head-to-head record. Among the last 6 times playing away at the "Hamster's" stadium, the "Red Devils" won 1, drew 1 and lost 4 times. The last time Man United won in this series was in 2022, the squad at that time still had famous players like Ronaldo or De Gea.
Before playing away in this match, Man United is predicted to face many difficulties when West Ham is a relegation team and there are still many good players in the squad. Not entirely because of the jinx before that, Man United really encountered difficulties against the opponent's tight defensive play.
West Ham is not an excellent team this season, as evidenced by the 18th position in the standings. However, on a day when The Hammers play well, they can pull down any opponent below their actual level or form. Man United were very good in the previous 4 matches, but against West Ham, they were almost completely deadlocked.
When West Ham plays with a deep defensive system, many times all 10 players only appear in 1/3 of their home field, Michael Carrick's team is forced to put full pressure to penetrate. This playing style is very energy-consuming and also very... strange for Carrick in the past month.
In the previous 4 matches, Man United usually had a full 1-week break, but this time it was only 3. Therefore, many players, when put in a position to create continuous pressure, showed signs of exhaustion. Casemiro's case is the most typical when he was substituted in a state where he could no longer accelerate.
When attacking options from the inside were blocked, Michael Carrick was forced to substitute and one of the changes created a goal. Benjamin Sesko scored the equalizer in the 90+6 minute. In Carrick's 3rd match against Fulham, Sesko himself also scored the last goal of the match in the 90+4 minute, only 3 points different from that match and now only 1 point.
Keeping Matheus Cunha on the field until the 69th minute, then replacing Sesko with Leny Yoro was Carrick's bold decision. At that time, Man United switched to a 3-center-back formation. Both Yoro and Sesko did well. Joshua Zirkzee was also a substitute player and almost made a difference with a header that went wide of the post.
After the match, Carrick admitted that Man United should have pushed the ball into the penalty area even more. If Sesko had been on the field earlier, in the current situation of having to drill through, the goal could have come earlier. This is Sesko's 6th goal in the Premier League, 4 of which were scored in the last 5 matches.
I am satisfied with my performance but not satisfied with the result of this match. Man United deserved more than that, but sometimes luck does not go hand in hand. Perhaps the pressure the team created is not good enough, but anyway Man United fought their best and got points, this is very important" - Sesko shared.
In 5 matches under Carrick, Sesko has all come on as a substitute. However, this may change in the upcoming match against Everton. Sesko is in quite high form and matches with goals are gradually appearing more often. Recent goals against Fulham or West Ham all came at moments when not many people thought this young striker would score. Besides, Sesko also started to know how to coordinate with his teammates more and take advantage of Senne Lammens' long passes.
Maybe not possessing high speed like Mbeumo, not as skillful as Cunha, but in a game where someone needs to receive crosses into the penalty area, Sesko will be the most feasible option.
