West Ham ‘Absolutely delighted’ by what Bruno Fernandes did in win v Manchester United
West Ham defender will have been “absolutely delighted” to see Bruno Fernandes forced into long-range efforts in their 2-1 win, according to Stephen Warnock.
Manchester United had plenty of chances to score at the London Stadium on Sunday 27 October, most of all through Diogo Dalot spurning an open-goal effort over the crossbar.
While Erik ten Hag’s side largely dominated in the first half, Julen Lopetegui’s bold decision to make three substitutes at half-time paid off as the Hammers reduced their chances significantly.
Speaking via BBC’s Match of the Day 2 on Sunday (27 October), Warnock said: “In the second half, when you’ve got men behind the ball and five men defending, it became one of those situations where Bruno Fernandes is taking pot-shots from outside the box.
“As a defender, you’re absolutely delighted about that.”
Julen Lopetegui praised after West Ham United decision v Manchester United
Given Lopetegui’s prior experience with Real Madrid, Sevilla, Spain, and even Wolves in the Premier League, the Spaniard should know when to make the tough decisions.
His trio of half-time changes saw Lucas Paqueta, Carlos Soler and Konstantinos Mavropanos all replaced by Tomas Soucek, Crysencio Summerville and Jean-Clair Todibo.
Those changes paid off, allowing Edson Alvarez to drop back into the defensive line rather than getting lost in the middle of the park, and now they have leapfrogged the Red Devils in the league table.
Despite the 4-1 win over Ipswich Town, fans were deeply disappointed to then be thrashed 4-1 by Tottenham, so the supporters will not be getting too far ahead of themselves just yet.
The victory can certainly be used as a building block for the Hammers to work from, with an away trip to Nottingham Forest up next, but there will be several aspects of the performance that still need addressing.
In other West Ham news, Micah Richards reacted to a controversial moment v Manchester United as BBC footage emerged.
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