Man Utd drew with West Ham, finishing the season as runners-up.
Mourinho's team drew 0-0 against West Ham in their rescheduled match on the evening of May 10th.
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Pogba's foul on Mark Noble at the end of the match. Photo: Reuters |
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The most notable event of the match was the physical altercation between the two players. Photo: Reuters |
Manchester United needed just one point in their trip to London to secure second place before the final round of matches. Manager Mourinho's team achieved this, giving them 78 points, four points ahead of third-placed Tottenham with one game remaining. This is nine points more and a four-place higher ranking than the Red Devils were last season.
In last night's rescheduled match, Man Utd could have won if goalkeeper Adrian hadn't made some outstanding saves for West Ham. The Spanish goalkeeper made excellent saves against Alexis Sanchez, Luke Shaw, and Jesse Lingard. After attacking without scoring, Man Utd decided to retreat into defense in the final minutes to secure a point.
Despite having secured their survival in the previous round, West Ham, under former Man Utd manager David Moyes, did not give his old team an easy game. The Scottish strategist aimed to finish the season in the top 10 and needed West Ham to beat Man Utd to equalize the points for that position.
West Ham performed well defensively with their physical style of play and enthusiastic ball-winning. However, their attacking efforts were not enough to threaten De Gea's goal, with only Arnautovic proving effective.
Two shots on target from the Austrian striker were the highlight for the home team. The draw leaves West Ham stuck in 15th place with 39 points, two points behind the top 10 before the final round.
Manager Mourinho made eight changes to the Manchester United starting lineup compared to the defeat against Brighton. The Portuguese coach was determined to secure second place early to conserve energy for the FA Cup final on May 19th. Manchester United played with a three-man defensive formation and made no secret of their intention to launch an early attacking onslaught against their opponents.
Manchester United's best chances all came in the first half, but they all slipped through Sanchez's fingers and those of his teammates. Their closest chance to score was when Luke Shaw's shot hit the post.
The goalless draw against West Ham gave Man Utd their 18th clean sheet in the Premier League this season, the best record among all defenses. However, they also hold the record for the most 0-0 draws in the Premier League since manager Ferguson retired, with 19 matches, level with Southampton.
