Diogo Dalot misses open goal as Man Utd very wasteful in dominant West Ham display

Manchester United full-back Diogo Dalot went past West Ham goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski with ease but was left holding his head in disbelief when he missed an open goal from just a few yards out.

The visitors dominated the early exchanges and had numerous opportunities to take the lead against under-pressure Julen Lopetegui’s outfit, but none more clear-cut than Dalot’s horrible miss.

Captain Bruno Fernandes, on his return to the team having been suspended for United’s 1-1 draw to Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce in the Europa League, played Dalot through with a stunning through ball that deserved to have a finished product.

The Portuguese defender had raced through and when Fabianski came to the edge of the box to meet him, he flicked the ball around the goalkeeper with such a composure that a simple finish into the back of the net felt inevitable.

But noticing the onrushing Konstantinos Mavropanos desperate to prevent his side from going a goal down in another dismal first-half performance, Dalot attempted to lift the ball and avoid his attempted block.

However, the 25-year-old got it all wrong as the ball went high and wide, leaving his team-mates baffled that somehow they had not taken the lead in a dominant first half.

Fernandes, Alejandro Garnacho and Marcus Rashford all also squandered golden opportunities to break the deadlock in the opening 45 minutes.

The Argentine, retaining his role on the left, hit the crossbar inside the opening two minutes and after being put through by his captain again only moments later – struck his effort wide.

Fernandes himself then latched onto a stunning through ball from Casemiro over the top, but failed to seriously trouble Fabianski in the West Ham goal.

Then Rashford found himself in on goal, in another match where the Hammers failed to keep their defensive shape, only to struggle to get the ball out of his feet before Fabianski smothered it.

Erik ten Hag will be enthused that his side are creating so many scoring opportunities, but having found the back of the net just seven times in their opening eight-and-a-half Premier League matches, concerns continue to pile up in front of goal.

Dalot had been moved back to right-back after deputising on the left for sidelined Luke Shaw and Tyrell Malacia for the majority of the campaign, but in an unusual position in front of goal was unable to capitalise on a simple opportunity to score.