Match report: West Ham 2 vs Manchester United 2

Manchester United settled for a point after a 2-2 draw with West Ham.
Ricardo Vaz Te's opener was cancelled out by Antonio Valencia's first goal of the season but Mohamed Diame's fine strike put the capital club in front again. Shinji Kagawa, who also set up Valencia's effort, hit the woodwork in the 77th minute and Robin van Persie converted the rebound to salvage a point.

Sir Alex Ferguson made only one change to the starting XI on duty at Stoke on Sunday with Rafael replacing Javier Hernandez, prompting Phil Jones and Wayne Rooney to move further forward, albeit as part of a fluid formation.
The Hammers made a furious start and pressed in the opening stages but there was only one moment of danger. Carroll was afforded far too much time on the edge of the box and an offside flag was raised against Kevin Nolan inthe middle as the on-loan Liverpool striker's shot rolled wide.
United were still struggling to gain a momentum in the game when Carroll headed over the top from a corner after a quarter of an hour and it was no great surprise when the hosts opened the scoring soon afterwards. Kagawa's misplaced pass was pounced upon by Diame and he invited Matt Jarvis to take on Rio Ferdinand. The winger beat the ex-Hammer comfortably and crossed to Carroll, who headed down for Vaz Te to dive and nod past Rafael and Nemanja Vidic on the line.
There was no initial response from the Reds with Rooney's wayward shot the only effort registered in the opening half an hour but an equaliser arrived following a fine move down the left flank. Van Persie threaded a pass through James Collins' legs to work the ball back to Kagawa and the Japan international danced his way into the area to tee up Valencia for a simple tap-in, with the winger becoming the 19th different league scorer for the leaders this term.
Diame got the better of Michael Carrick to lash a drive in tothe side-netting and Vaz Te thumped well wide as Sam Allardyce's side produced a positive reaction while Nolan tumbled under the merest touch from Nemanja Vidic in a desperate bid to win a penalty that left referee Lee Probert unimpressed.
Probert then failed to punish Carroll's ludicrous challenge on David De Gea from a corner with the yellow card it clearly warranted but, thankfully, the keeper was back on his feet after receiving treatment. The Londoners must have been disappointed to end the half on level terms as the move that led to Valencia's goal was the only one United created that carried any clear cut chances.

The start of the second half saw an immediate improvement with van Persie heading Rooney's precise cross frustratingly behind Jones, who was unable to make a proper connection when a goal would have been certain. Yet it did not provoke a spell of sustained pressure as Vidic was forced into a tremendous headed clearance at the other end to prevent Nolan from reaching a Jarvis cross.
Indeed, West Ham continued to push forward and Carroll, unconcerned by collecting a belated booking for a flare-up with De Gea, smashed a long-range effort close to the Spaniard's goal. When Diame turned Rooney easily on the edge of the box, the midfielder curled a delightful finish through a crowd of players and into the net to regain the lead for the hosts.
Jussi Jaaskelainen was called into action for the first time with the hour-mark approaching when he made a miraculous stop with his boot to deny van Persie but the Dutchman was offside in any case. Jaaskelainen was then fortunate when a well-placed van Persie corner saw Rooney's scuffed shot skip past the Finn, only for Gary O'Neil to hack away off the line.
At least Sir Alex's side were starting to maintain a decent tempo and rediscovering glimpses of the form that has taken them clear at the top of the table. Only a wonderful one-handed save by Jaaskelainen kept out van Persie's header from a Valencia centre as the Reds clicked through the gears, replacing Rooney with Ryan Giggs.

Kagawa moved into a central position with Giggs stationed on the left and the former Borussia Dortmund schemer was heavily involved in the second equaliser. Collecting a Carrick pass, he blasted in a splendid shot that hit both posts and van Persie was on hand to emphatically lift the rebound into the roof of the net. TV replays showed United's top scorer was offside at the moment the initial shot was unleashed.
Javier Hernandez was introduced, surprisingly at the expense of the influential Kagawa, and forced another good stop out of Jaaskelainen from Carrick's astute pass. With time running out, van Persie slashed a wild attempt off target and Carrick survived a shout from the crowd for handball, even though the ball hit his chest.
There were chances for late drama in stoppage time as Hernandez was unable to convert a lovely cross by Giggs due to Carroll's brilliant tackle, capping an impressive display by the centre-forward, and substitute Matty Taylor spurned an opening for the Hammers by firing over the bar.
The lead may have been reduced but, ahead of ManchesterCity's trip to Tottenham on Sunday, United remain very much in pole position to land a record 20th title.

Sam Allardyce: Manchester United are extremely good

West Ham boss Sam Allardyce lauded the
"scary" Manchester United team whom his side are set to face in Wednesday's Premier League clash.
Sir Alex Ferguson's men are 15 points clear of nearest rivals Manchester City and would break the division's record points tally if they are victorious in all of their remaining games, leading the Hammers boss to hail the Red Devils squad as possibly their best ever.

"I think you have to say the United team is as good as it has ever been because nobody normally wins the title so easily and by so big a margin, or has this much of a margin at this stage of the season," Allardyce told reporters.
"It is pretty scary what total they might actually finish with. They have been outstanding and their squad rotation has been Sir Alex's masterpiece, as usual - about playing the right team at the right time."
The West Ham boss feels that United's early exits from other competitions were a big factor in helping them surge to what is set to be their 20th English crown.
"They have not had the normal focus on three or four competitions almost to the end - the focus has come on the Premier League, and they have just breezed it - everyone else can't get near them," he observed.
"We will need to be on our best form, as always, if we are to get anything but we have run them close three times this season.
"I would say we are still another couple of points off being absolutely safe. Hopefully we can win a couple of matches and see where we go."

Robin van Persie and Rooney targets Points total

Manchester United strikers Wayne Rooney and Robin van Persie are determined to win the Barclays Premier League in style.
Following the Reds' hard fought 2-0 win at Stoke City on Sunday, Sir Alex Ferguson's men require just seven points from the remaining six league fixtures to secure a 20th league title. But Rooney and van Persie believe it's important United cruise to victory rather than limp over the line.
"That's the aim," Rooney told Sky Sports . "The manager [told us before the game at Stoke] that the season started today and we've now got six to go – we have to go for all of them.
"I think if we win them all, we get a record in our pockets, so it's a good target, a nice target for all of us to achieve."
Van Persie, who netted from the penalty spot to end a 10-match goal drought, was in similarly bullish mood.
"We don't just want to try and win the league by getting the
points we need, we want to get maximum points now from the games remaining.
"It's important that you keep a run of wins going and that's what we want to do."

Evra: We have been teasing Robin van Persie

Patrice Evra says all the players were delighted to see Robin van Persie get back to scoring ways at Stoke, but revealed he has had plenty of stick for his goal celebration.
The Dutchman ended a drought of 10 games without scoring for Manchester United in Sunday's 2-0 win at the Britannia when he won and converted a second-half penalty.
He immediately ran towards the United bench after seeing the ball hit the back of the net and jumped into the arms of an equally jubilant Sir Alex Ferguson.
"It has been difficult for Robin. He has had a lot of stick from us. For two or three days we have been getting at him!" Evra joked, when asked by PA Sport and Talksport about the goal celebration.
"To be fair, Robin told us he was really emotional. He had not scored for 10 games. He just showed the passion and the way he wanted to win. He said to us: 'Hands up guys,it was an emotional game. I did it, it is okay, we can move on now.'
"It was nice. I can see a lot of love and emotion. It is the first time we saw that [from Robin]. It is good to see love like that on the pitch sometimes. I always say the
atmosphere at this club is great. That is a big strength for Manchester United."
Sunday's victory means the Reds are within seven points of reclaiming the championship crown and Evra says that, in Sir Alex, the players have the perfect person to guide themto glory.
"The boss is a winner," Evra said. "He has just told us to win the six games that are left. He said before the Stoke game that the season starts now. That shows you the way he wants to win this 20th title.
"He told us not to think about the title, just think about winning these six games. We can still break the record [points total]. That is what he wants.
"The challenge for us is to win the remaining six games we have left. It won't be easy but that is the way the boss wants us to play."

Sir Alex: No new injuries

Sir Alex Ferguson has confirmed that his team came away from Stoke unscathed and revealed that the same squad will travel to Upton park on Wednesday.

Goals from Michael Carrick and Robin van Persie secured a vital 2-0 win for United on Sunday to extend the gap at the top of the
table to 15 points.
Sir Alex's men need seven more to secure a 20th league title and have the opportunity to pick up another three at Upton Park on Wednesday night.
"We have no injuries from Sunday against Stoke. It was a tough game, certainly. But there were no injuries and that is a blessing of course," the boss told MUTV .
"We have a good, strong squad. We took 20 players with us to Stoke and those 20 players will go with us again on Wednesday night."