Cristiano Ronaldo was on the pitch – from the start – but it was Marcus Rashford with a Ronaldo-like header that powered Manchester United to a victory that further strengthened their case to be Champions League contenders.
In the end it was hard-fought, and a little fortunate, as West Ham pushed for an equaliser with Declan Rice driving them on and with Erik ten Hag desperately making changes to try and hold onto the three points.
They did it and, last season, this would have been a game where they would not have been able to do that. Ten Hag has installed a bit more resilience and belief. It is also now eight games unbeaten in all competitions for them with a gathering sense of momentum.
At the final whistle the United players rushed to congratulate David De Gea with the goalkeeper making two brilliant saves including one from Rice in the dying seconds.
Pre-match talk had been about Ronaldo regaining his place but it was Rashford who was United’s most effective forward and his first-half goal was his 100th for the club. He became the 22nd United player to reach that total – at the age of 24 – and the first since Wayne Rooney in 2009 and his timing was perfect.
Marcus Rashford heads the game's only goal - Getty
Marcus Rashford heads the game's only goal - Getty
Not just with the superb leap with which he met Christian Eriksen’s precise cross but also in scoring in front of the watching England manager, Gareth Southgate, who announces his World Cup squad on November 10.
The timing was also appropriate with it being the 85th anniversary of United always having an academy player in their match-day squad, an impressive record that now stretches back 4,163 games.
There was also a rare start for Harry Maguire, his first in the Premier League since losing the first two games, with Victor Lindelof and Raphael Varane injured and the centre-half was far better in the second-half after a shaky first 45 minutes which will have encouraged Southgate.
There was a decisive moment in injury-time as he inadvertently deflected a goal-bound effort from Jarrod Bowen which seemed certain to draw West Ham level.
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