OPINION
West Ham United suffered an agonising 2-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United on Saturday in what was their third loss on the bounce.
Two penalties from Paul Pogba all but summed up what a cruel result it was for the Hammers after Felipe Anderson equalised in the second half after his initial effort was ruled out for offside.
They had the chance to salvage a point towards the end of the second half, but a magnificent save from United goalkeeper David De Gea denied them what would have been a very well-deserved draw at Old Trafford.
Forever West Ham has rounded up the three things learned about West Ham in their loss v United:
Masuaku looked transformed
Where was Arthur Masuaku and what had Manuel Pellegrini done with him? The 25-year-old looked excellent despite the result, and just looked completely transformed after making a meal out of Diogo Dalot. Gone was the player who usually makes clumsy mistakes, and he has been replaced by someone who looked effortless going forward as well as sticking to his defensive duties. Aaron Cresswell is no doubt looking on in dismay, as this assured performance from the left-back has surely got him sweating a little bit.
Lanzini needs to be axed
Manuel Lanzini certainly was not at his best in the 2-0 loss to Chelsea on Monday, and he hardly redeemed himself in this clash either. The £70,000-a-week [Spotrac] player was just woeful on Saturday – he went off the boil hugely in the first half despite some good early signs, giving the ball away in a manner that was very unlike him in the slightest. He made up for it slightly in the second half, but not enough to warrant a start against Leicester next weekend – he must be axed as soon as possible.
Anderson was desperately unlucky
Felipe Anderson could not have had a more unlucky evening for the Irons if he tried. The 25-year-old had his first effort ruled for offside in what was considered a controversial decision, and it could have been the goal that salvaged a point for his team. That being said, the playmaker was in sublime form on Saturday – it was certainly one of the best displays we have seen from him in a long time. Here is hoping that he is not so unlucky next weekend.
