Robin van Persie's 33rd second goal was enough to bring United the three points
Image retrieved from BBC Sport
Starting Lineups (courtesy of Soccerway.com)
Goals of the Game
Manchester United: van Persie (1')
West Ham: -
Robin van Persie lead Manchester United to a nervy and gritty 1-0 win at Old Trafford as his 33rd second goal held up against visitors West Ham United.
Manchester United started the first half in the most urgent of fashions when its prolific forward, Robin van Persie, found the net as early as the 33rd second. Carrick made an excellent through ball towards the Dutchman who took the shot. It deflected slightly towards West Ham defender James Collins and the ball volleyed into the net.
United made more attempts at goal, but were frequently caught offside. Hernandez came close to making it 2-0 at the 16th minute, but the shot drifted to the right. West Ham, in the same fashion, almost nicked in a goal with Kevin Nolan collecting a Matthew Taylor cross. Andy Carroll also found the bar.
Robin van Persie nets the fastest goal of the season in under 33 seconds
Image retrieved from The Daily Mail UK
West Ham begins the second-half with business on mind as Diame took a shot on target. Carrick blocked the shot. Matthew Taylor also got a shot on the next corner, with Hernandez who cleared. United retaliated. Rooney made a good run and took a shot from the left, which was greatly saved by Jaaskelainen. At the following corner, RvP's cross lead to confusion inside penalty box, with Smalling and Hernandez all having a go but it was eventually cleared. Edge of the box in front of West Ham's goal would then become a hotspot. Hernandez, Cleverley, Anderson, Rooney would all make attempts on goal from there, to no avail.
United almost had a scare at 80th minute when Anderson conceded a foul for a free kick at the middle of the pitch. West Ham played a long ball and found Carlton Cole inside the box, who came close to scoring the equalizer. Modibo Maiga collected the rebound, but he was offside. His attempt was nevertheless saved by United keeper Lindegaard.
The nervy Old Trafford faithful was treated to another scare when Patrice Evra haphazardly made a back pass towards his keeper, with West Ham's forwards on the prowl. Jonny Evans was there to bail out his captain and made the clearance.
In the end, Sir Alex Ferguson's side kept their 1-0 lead, albeit nervously and dangerously, to capture all three points and keep themselves top of the Premier League table.
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