Manchester United secure second place with draw against West Ham United

Manchester United have guaranteed a second-place finish in the Premier League after a goalless draw at West Ham United.

The result puts United four points ahead of Tottenham ahead of the final round of fixtures on Sunday.

It was a game bereft of chances, with both teams appearing to be happy to settle for a draw. Marko Arnautovic was first to test David de Gea but shot straight at him in the sixth minute.

Arnautovic came close seven minutes later after Chris Smalling sliced a clearance but the striker’s header went over.

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Manchester United then came forward. Scott McTominay put a long-ranger a yard wide before Adrian kept out a curling Jesse Lingard effort.

Adrian was called on a few moments later and a double save to keep out Alexis Sanchez and Luke Shaw kept the score level.

Arnautovic, clearly the best player on the pitch in the first half, caused more problems but his cross was turned wide by Joao Mario.

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Adrian was again called into action on the verge of half-time to keep out Sanchez’s curling shot.

The end-of-season feel to the match continued in the second half, and it was Arnautovic who was one of the few players to make a difference. He went round both Phil Jones and Smalling but his cross came to nothing.

Chances fell at the other end but Paul Pogba and Smalling both headed wide.

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The match, devoid of much excitement until this point, came to a head in the 87th minute when Mark Noble and Pogba got into a scrap. Pogba kicked out at Noble who responded by squaring up to him. Both players escaped with a yellow card.

Manchester United host Watford and West Ham welcome Everton on the final day of the season on Sunday.

Cover Photo: Jose Mourinho by Ronnie Macdonald used under license by CC BY 2.0.

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