Lingard, De Gea salvage the win for Manchester United

Manchester United pulled out a 2-1 win over West Ham thanks to some late game heroics by both Jesse Lingard and David de Gea.

Lingard curled a shot in the 89th minute to give the Red Devils the lead and De Gea stopped a penalty by Mark Noble to preserve the lead in the final moments of the game.

Manchester United struggled but answered the call when needed

The Hammers came out on  the front foot and unsettled Man United early on. Their efforts were rewarded at the half hour mark when a shot by Saïd Benrahma deflected off Raphaël Varane to give West Ham the lead.

The advantage did not last long as Cristiano Ronaldo equalized for the visitors. Bruno Fernandes delivered the cross, which Ronaldo struck one-time. His initial shot was saved by Łukasz Fabiański but he followed up the rebound and ultimately scored. It marked the third consecutive game in which the Portuguese star has found his name on the scoresheet since returning.

The second half was a more even affair with Man United unable to get past the West Ham defense. Ronaldo had a couple of penalty shouts but the referee did not buy them.

Just when it seemed like the game was headed towards a draw, in the 89th minute, Lingard had the ball inside the area. The former Hammer took a couple of touches to create some space between him and the defender. Before he could be closed down, the forward rifled out past the keeper for the lead.

After another Ronaldo penalty shout went unheard, West Ham came down the other end and had a penalty called in their favor thanks to a hand ball by Luke Shaw.

The referee consulted VAR and confirmed the penalty call. In a curious move, manager David Moyes decided to sub on Noble to take the penalty. The move backfired as Noble’s shot was saved by De Gea.

De Gea and Lingard, both players who’ve been the subject of criticism, earned some redemption in this game. Manager Ole Gunner Solskjaer was full of praise for Lingard in his post-match press conference.

"“Jesse was quite clear [in the summer] he wants to fight for his place and be part of a Man United team that is going places; he’s really contributing,” Solskjaer said. “I’m so pleased he handles the highs and lows really well. He’s becoming a grown man and is a very good player.”Source: ESPN"

The win was important for Manchester United, coming off a disappointing 2-1 loss against Young Boys in the Champions League. Lingard played a role in Young Boys’ winning goal.

With the result, United reached 13 points, which is enough to be level on points with Chelsea and Liverpool.