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Poor refereeing was the centre of attention as West Ham United hosted Manchester United at the Olympic Stadium in London. The Hammers found themselves on the back foot after 15 minutes with referee Mike Dean sending off the Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli for a fifty-fifty challenge on Phil Jones. The English referee has shown 5 red cards and awarded 10 penalties this season, more than any other referee in the league.
Despite a man advantage United failed to create chances and Jose Mourinho was not at all pleased with the performances of his players in the first half. The former Chelsea manager brought Marcus Rashford and Juan Mata on in the second half to change the game.
Rashford, the 19-year old forward, stretched the West Ham defence and took on players to a great effect. He showed great skill and composure to find Mata inside the box who finished in style. Later, Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored his 13th goal of the campaign to double the Manchester United lead though replays confirmed he was in an offside position. The Swede has been involved in almost 52% of all the goals scored by United this season in the league.
Had it not been for West Ham goalkeeper Darren Randolph, United could have won by a much bigger margin. The Red Devils extended their unbeaten run to 13 in all competitions and this was their 6th win on the trot in the league.
Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City struggled to beat a dogged Burnley side at the Etihad Stadium. Guardiola, to everyone’s surprise, decided to bench both his key players, David Silva and Sergio Aguero.
As expected, City began with a lot of possession, created a few good chances but failed to put any of them away. They suffered a setback in the 32nd minute when referee Lee Mason sent off Fernandinho for a two-footed challenge on Johann Berg Gudmundsson. The Brazilian has now been sent off thrice in a span of six weeks which is sure to vex the manager.
In the second half, David Silva and Sergio Aguero came on to restore City’s lost momentum. Gael Clichy scored his 3rd goal for the Citizens to put them in front. Four minutes later Aguero doubled the lead with a brilliant finish from a very tight angle. Ben Mee of Burnley reduced the deficit with a scrappy goal but that was as good as it would get for the visitors.
Guardiola’s side managed to return to the top four but the Burnley manager, Sean Dyche, will be disappointed not to have added to the meagre one point they have picked up away from home in the season so far.
