West Ham United have all but guaranteed their survival in the Premier League courtesy of a 1-0 win over Manchester United at the London Stadium on Sunday night.
A howler from Man United goalkeeper David de Gea saw the Hammers to secure all three points, with the Spaniard allowing a tame strike from Said Benrahma to squirm into the back of the net.
The win has moved West Ham onto 37 points in the table, seven points ahead of the relegation zone, while Erik ten Hag's side remain fourth, still just one point clear of fifth-placed Liverpool, who have played a game more.
The Red Devils were looking to bounce back from their late defeat at Brighton & Hove Albion on Thursday but suffered their ninth league defeat of the campaign in the English capital.
Man United's side showed three changes from their loss to Brighton & Hove Albion, with Tyrell Malacia, Christian Eriksen and Wout Weghorst coming in, while there was a return to the bench for Alejandro Garnacho.
West Ham, meanwhile, were able to recall Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek and Nayef Aguerd following illness; Benrahma was also introduced for the Hammers in an attacking area.
Man United had a half-chance in the second minute of the contest when Marcus Rashford found space in a dangerous area following a counter-attack, which had arrived after Benrahma failed to make the most of a cross into the away side's box, but the Englishman struck over the crossbar.
West Ham had another chance to create an opening in the sixth minute when Lucas Paqueta drove towards the Man United box, but the Brazilian could not pick out the run of Michail Antonio, and then moments later, Bruno Fernandes just missed the post with a low strike down the other end.
Antony had another excellent chance for Man United in the 10th minute, but the Brazilian's low effort was wide of the target, as West Ham survived another dangerous moment in the early stages of the match, with the visitors dominating the ball at the London Stadium.
Eriksen curled one just over Lukasz Fabianski's goal in the 15th minute, before Antonio tried an extravagant flick from a Benrahma cross down the other end, but De Gea dealt with the danger.
Rashford caught the outside of the post with a rasping strike in the 18th minute, with the visitors on top, but West Ham took the lead in the 27th minute following a shocking mistake from De Gea.
There did not appear to be much danger when Benrahma struck one from distance, but the Man United goalkeeper made a complete mess of it, with the ball going over his hand and dropping into the back of the net.
Luke Shaw did well to block a goal-bound shot from Jarrod Bowen after Antonio had delivered a low cross into the box in the period that followed, with the atmosphere changing following the opening goal.
Antony struck the outside of the post in the 32nd minute, and Man United must have been wondering how they were behind considering what had happened in the match up until that point.
Rashford fired another effort wide of the target in the 39th minute, before the Red Devils forward headed a cross from Antony towards the bottom corner, but Fabianski was on hand to make the save.
De Gea did well to save from Benrahma in first-half stoppage time before West Ham had a shout for a penalty, with VAR looking at a possible handball from Lindelof, but the check was completed with no punishment for the Sweden international.
West Ham made the stronger start to the second period, with Antonio's pace and power causing problems in the wide positions; De Gea had to make a smart save to keep out a strike from Soucek, with Man United untidy with their work after the restart.
The Hammers again had the ball in the back of the Man United net in the 52nd minute, with Antonio converting with an acrobatic effort, but the goal was disallowed for a foul on De Gea, with the West Ham forward putting his arm across the goalkeeper and knocking him to the ground.
Fabianski made a smart save to keep out a strike from Weghorst in the 56th minute, with Man United having their first sight of the home side's goal in the second period.
There were no takers on a dangerous low Rice cross just before the hour, before Paqueta missed the crossbar with a strike from distance, as West Ham looked to double their advantage against a Red Devils outfit that looked short on ideas.
Soucek was next to try his luck for the Hammers, firing a volley just wide at the far post in the 62nd minute, and Man United were struggling to get out of their own half at the London Stadium, with a strike from Paqueta also whistling just wide of the post after being met by Bowen.
Rice had one deflected wide of the Man United post 20 minutes from time, before a brilliant header from Soucek, which went in off the post, was ruled out for offside.
Fabianski tipped a powerful Rashford shot over the crossbar in the 77th minute, before a sickening clash of heads between Wan-Bissaka and Soucek from the resulting corner led to both players receiving treatment inside the West Ham box.
Casemiro headed a Fernandes cross wide of the post in the 86th minute, before Rice had a cross deflected just wide of the target down the other end in the 88th minute.
Eight additional minutes were signalled due to the earlier stoppage for the head injuries, and shortly into the extra time, Fabianski had to make a smart save to deny Anthony Martial, who then missed an excellent chance from the resulting corner, with his header flashing across the goal.
Ten Hag's side could not find a late leveller at the London Stadium, though, and they are now facing the possibility of missing out on a top-four spot in the table.
Next up for Man United in the league is a home game against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday, while West Ham will now switch their attention to the Europa Conference League, preparing to welcome AZ Alkmaar to the London Stadium for the first leg of their semi-final on Thursday. body check tags ::
