McAvennie slams VAR as he reacts to Cresswell moment in West Ham loss to Manchester United
We’re delighted to welcome former West Ham United striker Frank McAvennie as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at the London Stadium…
Frank McAvennie refuses to blame Aaron Cresswell for Manchester United’s late winner against West Ham on Saturday.
Edinson Cavani was played onside by the 32-year-old left-back before he played in a pass for Marcus Rashford to score a last-minute winner at Old Trafford.
Replays show that the offside call was close and VAR allowed the goal to stand.
If Cresswell had been in line with the rest of the defence, the goal would have been chalked off but McAvennie feels that Cresswell’s mistake was just down to his lack of match fitness.
Speaking to West Ham Zone, McAvennie said: “They didn’t deserve to get beaten, that’s for sure.
“I don’t get this VAR. I don’t get it, just get on with it.
“Cresswell’s just come back from injury so his awareness of the boy coming from behind him, he didn’t know where he was.
“I cannot blame him for it but we’ve talked about players coming back from injury and match fitness.
“What happened in the 90th minute, when he played Cavani onside, was probably because of that.
“I think West Ham did enough to get a draw.”
Cresswell hadn’t played since 28 November before returning from injury to play against Norwich on 12 January.
David Moyes threw the left-back straight into his starting line-up and he’s since played 90 minutes of three Premier League games.
After winning over Norwich, the Hammers lost to Leeds and Man United.
In other West Ham news, the Irons have tabled a bid to sign this £16.8million-rated defender.