MANCHESTER, England (AP) – An “angry” Ruben Amorim saved West Ham from a late 1-1 draw at Old Trafford on Thursday and watched Manchester United’s chances of climbing into fifth place in the Premier League end.
Sungutu Magassa’s 83rd-minute equalizer canceled out Diogo Dalot’s opening goal which put United level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea.
Bruno Fernandes missed two chances to score the winner in stoppage time, firing from inside the box and then volleying wide.
United manager Amorim said after the game that he was “frustrated” and “angry” to see his side drop yet another point.
“We’re really inconsistent,” he said. “If you look at the goal in the 83rd minute, we have long balls and we control everything. We need to improve.”
United have won just one of their last five games and drawn three.
Despite that goal, they still had a chance to move closer to qualifying for the Champions League. And that was a real possibility in the 58th minute when Casemiro’s long-range shot was controlled by Dalot inside the box.
The United defender then spun and fired a powerful shot past West Ham goalkeeper Alphonse Areola.
It was a game with few chances, with little chance of West Ham scoring an equalizer. However, Jarrod Bowen’s flicked header from a corner kick in the second half was cleared on the goal line by Noucea Mazraoui.
Magassa was the quickest to react in the box and side-footed a shot low into the corner, scoring his first goal for the club and earning cheers from the visiting fans.
“It felt great,” said Magassa, who signed in the summer from Monaco. “It was a good game and everyone fought. I’m very happy to score my first goal in the Premier League.”
The result leaves United in 8th place and West Ham in 18th place.
United remain just two points clear of the top four, underscoring how costly their recent results have been.
The draws against Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and West Ham all came in games in which United were in the lead. The only defeat in the game came at home to an Everton side who were down to 10 men early in the game.
“This year we are at a point where we must not drop too many points, otherwise the distance to the top will be even further,” Dalot said. “We want to be there and be in the top four or five.
“The disappointment is even bigger because we had a good chance today.”
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James Robson is https://x.com/James Saran Robson
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AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
