Manchester United’s winning streak came crashing to a halt against West Ham but there were still some silver linings from the performance.
The Red Devils were moments away from suffering their first defeat of 2026 before Benjamin Sesko salvaged a 1-1 draw against West Ham.
The Slovenian striker came off the bench to score an injury-time equaliser, and it patched over what was an otherwise deflating performance.
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United’s attacking players have stood out in recent weeks, but were starved of space at the London Stadium, so the best performances came from defence.
Leny Yoro impressed off the bench and Senne Lammens made some vital saves, but Lisandro Martinez was simply flawless and must be wondering how he has not left the pitch as a winner.
Lisandro Martinez starred for Man United vs West Ham
Michael Carrick named an unchanged XI to face West Ham on Tuesday, meaning the solid partnership of Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire remained intact.
A Tomas Soucek run from deep cost United a clean sheet, but Martinez can hold his head high based off his individual performance.
As per SofaScore, Martinez earned a 7.2 rating. Luke Shaw was the only outfield United star who was rated higher.
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Martinez took a match-topping 118 touches of the ball and was United’s foundation to build attacks from. He boasted a 93% pass completion rate, completing 100 passes, including 55 in West Ham’s half.
Incredibly, Martinez progressed the ball a total of 531 metres across 54 different ball carries. Defensively, he hardly put a foot wrong, making five defensive contributions and winning five duels.
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Carrick did well to not overreact to United’s draw, summing up the performance as “okay” in his post-match comments.
United did not deserve to lose against a West Ham side who were happy to sit deep and defend. The hosts only managed two shots on target and had 35% possession.
Soucek did well to capitalise on one of West Ham’s few chances, and it put United on the back foot.
Benjamin Sesko made it clear he felt United deserved to win after the match, but the Red Devils will have to settle for a draw in their push for Champions League football.
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