Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho refused to criticize his side despite another display lacking inspiration in attacking areas as they sealed second place in the Premier League with a 0-0 draw at West Ham on Thursday.
In a game of precious few clear-cut chances, Luke Shaw hit the post and Paul Pogba headed wide with United’s best opening.
A third blank in their last five league games for United means that local rivals Manchester City can seal another Premier League record by winning the league by at least 19 points if they win at Southampton on the last day of the season on Sunday.
Photo: Reuters
“We are the second-best team in the Premier League, a fantastic competition with lots of good teams,” Mourinho said.
“We came second,” he said. “I am not totally happy [because] that is not my nature, but since the moment we felt it was impossible to finish first, we had the target to finish second and it is done today.”
In United’s first game since legendary former manager Sir Alex Ferguson had to have emergency surgery on a brain hemorrhage, the visiting fans showed their support to the 76-year-old Scot with persistent chants of “We all love Alex Ferguson.”
There was a subdued atmosphere from the home fans at the end of another deeply frustrating campaign for the Hammers.
Two years ago to the day, West Ham waved goodbye to Upton Park in a thrilling 3-2 win over United on a night of high emotion in East London.
That victory also helped secure European soccer, but the move to the London Stadium, sold to supporters as West Ham’s chance to compete with the Premier League elite, has so far proved a false dawn.
Survival was only mathematically secured last weekend and West Ham remain in lowly 15th place.
“It’s a big achievement for us,” West Ham manager David Moyes said of keeping his side in the top flight.
“We had to get the players in order a little bit after we came in, and we have done that,” he said. “This is a big club and there are big expectations from the supporters, so they will need to improve.”
Mourinho reacted to Friday’s meek 1-0 defeat at Brighton by making eight changes with Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial relegated to the bench, despite the continued absence of the injured Romelu Lukaku.
However, that failed to provoke an immediate response as West Ham posed the early threat.
Marko Arnautovic’s goals have kept Moyes’ men up and the Austrian muscled his way into a good shooting position on six minutes, but placed his shot too close to David de Gea.
Adrian has been restored in the West Ham goal for the past three games in place of England international Joe Hart, and showed why with a hat-trick of fine saves.
Jesse Lingard was first to be denied with a fiercely struck long-range effort before Adrian showed quick reflexes to save from Alexis Sanchez, and then get back on his feet to turn Shaw’s effort onto the post.
A lackluster United display was reflected in Pogba again failing to take control of the game.
The ￡89 million (US$120.45 million) midfielder did have the visitors’ best chance when he headed wide just after the hour mark from Antonio Valencia’s pin-point cross.
The Frenchman came a lot closer moments later with a strike that curled just past the post from a narrow angle.
Pogba’s frustration then spilled over when he was lucky to escape with just a yellow card after grappling with West Ham captain Mark Noble, as tempers flared in the latter stages.
MOTHER KNOWS BEST: Warriors’ coach Kerr said his 91-year-old mother criticized him for his attitude toward officials that led to his ejection from Monday’s game Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Wednesday rescued the Oklahoma City Thunder with a game-tying buzzer-beater before finishing with 46 points in a 129-125 overtime victory against the Utah Jazz. The reigning NBA champions looked to be heading for a third straight loss after the Jazz inched into a 114-112 lead following Lauri Markkanen’s layup with just three seconds remaining in the fourth quarter. However, NBA Most Valuable Player Gilgeous-Alexander drained a superb 13-foot jump shot to tie it up at 114-114 as the buzzer sounded to send the game into overtime. Gilgeous-Alexander then took over in the extra period with nine points as the Western
Mohamed Salah’s Egypt knocked reigning champions Ivory Coast out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with a 3-2 win in the quarter-finals on Saturday, while Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria beat Algeria 2-0 to set up a clash with hosts Morocco. In Agadir, Morocco, a thrilling last-eight tie saw Omar Marmoush and Ramy Rabia net in the first half for the Pharaohs before an own goal by Ahmed Aboul-Fetouh brought the Ivorians back into it. Salah then got Egypt’s third early in the second half and they held on after Guela Doue again reduced the deficit. Egypt is to face Senegal
AUSTRALIAN ADVENTURE: Sabalenka aims to follow up with a third Australian Open win, while Taiwanese Joanna Garland claimed a WTA 125 title in Canberra Aryna Sabalenka beat Karolina Muchova in straight sets to reach her third Brisbane International final in a row yesterday, a week ahead of the Australian Open. Sabalenka looked in great touch against the tricky Czech, who had won their last three meetings and went into the match as one of the few players with a winning record over the world No. 1. However, Sabalenka showed her class and power as she broke Muchova once in each set to take the semi-final 6-3, 6-4 in 89 minutes to face Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final. “I struggled against her a couple of times [in
His team were knocked out of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in agonizing fashion on Tuesday, but the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s (DR Congo) human statue Michel Kuka Mboladinga would be remembered as the tournament’s most remarkable supporter. The colorfully dressed Kuka has earned fame as the fan who stands completely immobile throughout his team’s games, looking toward the sky with his right arm raised and palm open. He has become a media star and on Tuesday was accompanied by a delegation of several hundred Congolese supporters whose trip to Morocco was paid for by the country’s government. They took their
RSS