A howler by Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea gifted West Ham United three vital points in its battle against relegation as the host secured a 1-0 Premier League win at the London Stadium on Sunday.
United is fourth on 63 points after 34 games, one ahead of Liverpool and with a game in hand over the Merseysiders, while West Ham is 15th on 37 points, seven above the drop zone.
Visiting forward Marcus Rashford and Antony hit the post in the first half but De Gea’s error will capture the headlines as it reopened the chase for Champions League places.
Said Benrahma’s bouncing shot from distance looked to be no real threat but although Spaniard De Gea dived and got a hand to it he failed to keep the ball out as West Ham took the lead.
That knocked the wind out of United’s sails and it was lucky not to concede a penalty when Victor Lindelof moved his arm into the path of a ball from Benrahma, with the VAR deciding not to recommend a spot kick as the first half came to a close.
De Gea redeemed himself somewhat early in the second half with a superb reaction save to deny Tomas Soucek, but he looked shaky again as Soucek found the net with a header in the 73rd minute, only to see the effort chalked off for offside.
With United striker Wout Weghorst ineffective, Anthony Martial added a much-needed focal point for their attack when he came off the bench in the 57th minute.
Rashford forced a quick reaction stop from Lukasz Fabianski and Martial also had an effort saved as United increased the pressure, with Martial also flashing a stoppage-time header across the face of the goal.
But despite 10 minutes of stoppage time, United could not score and slumped to a second league defeat in a row after losing at Brighton & Hove Albion by the same scoreline on Thursday.
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