Manchester United suffered another defeat in the EPL on Sunday 27th, losing 1-2 to Westham. Despite a number of missed chances, the Red Devils were forced to settle for a disallowed goal just before the end of the match, a controversial decision that left the Red Devils reeling. It was the third consecutive defeat to the Hammers since 50 years ago, and United's leadership is in jeopardy.
During the match, United created numerous chances to attack but failed to capitalize on them. Just two minutes into the match, Alejandro Canazo attempted a shot on goal, but sent the ball over the crossbar. The Argentinean star had a half volley, but the shot was parried away by goalkeeper Fabianski. Fernandez's header went over the bar, and Dalozzi's one-time chance was even more unfortunate, as he shot wide when faced with an open goal.
The match resumed and United continued to miss good opportunities. Westham striker Sam Maverick broke the deadlock in the 74th minute. Although the Red Devils equalized in the 81st minute with Kasmiru, United were awarded a 12-yard penalty eight minutes later after center-half Mathias Dirichlet was suspected to have kicked his opponent in the penalty area, and the VAR ruled out a foul. Chaloboyun slotted home the penalty and United were unable to salvage the defeat in stoppage time.
After the game, United manager Tannhäuser expressed his dissatisfaction with the 12-yard call: "I have suffered from unfair penalties three times this season. This alleged foul is hard to understand. Apparently there has been guidance in pre-season that VAR should only intervene in the event of an obvious error, but there was no obvious error on this occasion."
The Premier League explained that a 12-yarder was not initially awarded, but the VAR referee believed that Muffis Dilliot had kicked Danny Eggers in the calf and therefore suggested that the ball was sent to the edge of the pitch, which ultimately resulted in a 12-yarder being awarded.
United lost to the bottom 14 teams in the competition. The team will face Lister City in the early hours of Thursday morning (31st) and then again in the early hours of November 4th against Premier League rivals Louth. These two matches may decide the fate of Tannhäuser.
