Manchester United 1-1 West Ham: Three things that we learnt

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Payet’s quality inspires The Hammers

It would be wrong to highlight one particular West Ham player for praise following their hard-fought draw at Old Trafford. Indeed, The Hammers produced a resilient, robust performance and, although they rode their luck at times, it would be hard for any onlooker to begrudge them their point. Darren Randolph was inspired in goal, James Collins a rock at the heart of their defence and Sakho was clinical with his bullet of a header in the opening two minutes. As a collective group Slavan Bilic’s men looked a far better side than their lowly current league position suggests.

But once again it was Dimitri Payet that caught the eye. The Frenchmen was at the heart of West Ham’s offense with his pace, trickery and range of passing always proving a threat. Defensively he worked equally as hard as any of his team mates and when The Hammers were caught under the cosh it was Payet who demonstrated the composure and intelligence on the ball to ease the pressure and maintain possession. His evening was capped off by his delightful free kick which curled and fizzed straight onto the head of Sakho who could barely miss.

Perhaps the more pressing question for Bilic is how long can he persuade the Frenchman to stay at the club?