The coach carrying the Manchester United squad to their game against West Ham was attacked by Hammers fans outside the Boleyn Ground on Tuesday evening. The late night kickoff was the last West Ham fixture at Upton Park after 112 years of serving as the Hammers home ground.
The team bus carrying the Red Devils were obstructed by raucous fans in a violent mood. Bottles and beer cans were used as missiles and thrown at the bus, shattering the window. United youngster, Jesse Lingard, uploaded a video from inside the bus showing how the players reacted to being attacked by the West Ham faithful.
The players are seen moving to the floor of the bus and away from the windows. Jesse Lingard is seen shouting for his “mommy” as others like Michael Carrick are busy on their phones, not giving the West Ham fans much attention.
The game was delayed by 45 mins due to fan violence. Red Devils skipper Wayne Rooney was disappointed with the behaviour of West Ham fans. He said, “It wasn't nice. The coach got smashed up, but we're here now, so have to prepare for the game and go out and do our job”.
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Rooney also added, “I'm sure you'll see the images. That's not for me to say, but I think it was disappointing of course. We know it's a big game for West Ham, big night for them, leaving the stadium, but I'm sure West Ham as a club will be disappointed with what the fans have done."
Manchester United seemed to have been rattled by the events preceding the game. West Ham flew out of the blocks and the United players seemed to have no answer for the aerial barrage and Andy Carroll’s physicality. Daley Blind looked especially shaken and made a number of mistakes throughout the game.
The Manchester club fell behind after Sakho put West Ham ahead in the 10th minute. They equalised and took the lead through two Anthony Martial goals before conceding two goals in the final ten minutes to lose the game.
Manchester United’s Champions League hopes lie in tatters after this loss. They now need to win their next game against Bournemouth while hoping that Manchester City lose to in-form Swansea City on Sunday in order to get to fourth place.
