Man Utd fights back to beat West Ham 3-1 before 2,000 fans

Dec 5, 2021, 02:30 pm

LONDON -- — Manchester United scored three goals in 13 minutes in a brilliant second-half comeback to beat West Ham 3-1 Saturday in the first Premier League match with fans in attendance since the coronavirus outbreak in March.

Trailing 1-0 at halftime in front of 2,000 fans at the Olympic Stadium, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer introduced substitutesBruno Fernandes and Marcus Rashford, and they changed the game.

Paul Pogba ran onto a pass from Fernandes and curled a long-range shot into the corner in the 65th minute, before smart buildup play involving Fernandes ended in Mason Greenwood controlling a left-wing cross and driving home a finish in the 68th.

Rashford then ran onto Juan Mata's through-ball and chipped the goalkeeper for the third goal in the 78th.

West Ham went ahead through Tomas Soucek at a corner in the 38th and should have been leading by a bigger margin at halftime.

Fans were allowed to return to British soccer grounds this week at the end of a second national lockdown.

England is the first of the major soccer nations to allow supporters back into football games during COVID-19′s second wave.

Fans, wearing face masks, were spread out in the lower and middle tiers of the Olympic Stadium.

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