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Manchester United created chances galore in the first half but failed to take advantage and eventually fell to a disappointing 1-2 defeat at the hands of an out-of-form West Ham in London on Sunday.
Alejandro Garnacho spurned a couple of glorious chances created by Bruno Fernandes before the miss of the season from Diogo Dalot completely took the air out of United’s balloon.
Their levels dropped considerably in the second half which allowed the hosts onto the front foot and they eventually opened the scoring through Crysencio Summerville.
Casemiro equalised but a controversial refereeing decision saw the Hammers awarded a penalty which Jarrod Bowen duly dispatched to hand the beleaguered London team all three points after a difficult start to the season.
Licha speaks on missed chances
The result meant they leapfrogged United, who are currently 14th and it is puzzling that INEOS have not yet pulled the plug on the Erik ten Hag era.
One of his lieutenants, Lisandro Martinez , who played both as a centre-back and left-back in the game, spoke to MUTV and rued the chances spurned by his teammates while admitting the lack of urgency in the second 45 minutes.
The World Cup winner also urged them to stick together to weather the storm, believing the players have it in them to turn around their fortunes in the coming games.
“I am so frustrated honestly because our skills, our quality and in those days after the game, we miss [so] many chances and it is difficult to accept it, but we have to. That is it.
“Today we played very well in the first half, but in the second half we dropped [our levels]. We concede the two goals and we couldn’t win the game. I am so disappointed today, honestly.”
“Everyone fights and we give everything, but I think we have to give more. We have to know that in football it is a mental game and we have to keep believing and believe to the end.”
He also issued a rallying cry to the fans and assured them that the players are trying their best to ensure a great end to the season and take the club back to the top in the near future.
The Argentina international mentioned that the players are feeling the same disappointment as the supporters and they need to understand their current predicament and keep working hard to turn things around.
Assures fans of hard work
“I am feeling very disappointed. I hate to lose and I hated losing that [game] and in this club, it is not what we want. The expectation is really high for sure and we want to win every game.
“But now it is time to accept and be honest with ourselves and keep moving. I want the best for this club,” said Martinez.
“I am pretty sure that this club will be in the top [places]. We will give everything to put this club where it deserves [to be].”
Plenty of empty promises have been made in the past and currently, things do not look too bright for the team under Ten Hag. Surely a change in the dugout is needed to escape this poor run of form.
