Manchester United held by West Ham United after Paul Pogba handball – but Champions League destiny now in their own hands
Manchester United stumbled at home to West Ham United on Wednesday night with a 1-1 draw - but the point was enough to move them into a top four spot for the first time since mid-September.
Mason Greenwood scored his tenth Premier League goal of the season, the first English teenager to do so since a certain Wayne Rooney, after the Red Devils fell behind in a lacklustre first half.
Michail Antonio had given the Hammers the lead from the penalty spot - his eighth goal since ‘Project Restart’ - after VAR had spotted Paul Pogba’s blatant handball from Declan Rice’s fiercely struck free-kick.
The point for the Hammers mathematically secures their Premier League survival for another season, while also leaving United's top four hopes in their own hands.
It means Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side move above Leicester, who they play on Sunday in their final game of the campaign.
Simply avoiding defeat at the King Power Stadium will ensure United reach the Champions League for first time since 2018.
Meanwhile, buoyed by recent good results, including a comfortable win against Watford on Friday, West Ham can look forward to another season in the top-flight after the formalities of welcoming Aston Villa on Sunday.
It was, in truth, a rather limp response from United to their FA Cup semi-final loss to Chelsea.
A bright start quickly petered out after Anthony Martial forced Lukasz Fabianski into a low save.
West Ham frustrated the hosts by sitting deep and soaking up the pressure, while posing questions with crosses from open play and set-pieces. Angelo Ogbonna underlined that threat when meeting a corner routine with a header that needed cleaner contact.
Marcus Rashford tried his luck from range in a bid to jolt their ponderous attack into life, before surprise inclusion Timothy Fosu-Mensah directed wide and Ogbonna threw himself in front of a Greenwood fizzer.
Solskjaer's side were not only struggling for creativity but resilience at the back, with Victor Lindelof left breathing a sigh of relief when Antonio came in behind him to get away a header that David de Gea dealt with.
The under-fire United goalkeeper had precious little to deal in the first half with but would concede on the stroke of half-time.
Fosu-Mensah was booked for bringing down Antonio and Rice unleashed a fierce strike from the resulting free-kick, with Pogba hitting the deck after getting in the way of that effort.
That block led to audible squeals from apoplectic West Ham players, who made their calls for handball loud and clear to referee Paul Tierney.
VAR eventually intervened and rightly awarded a penalty - with Pogba's claim that the ball hit his head not fooling VAR - and Antonio stepped up to coolly slot home.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka replaced Fosu-Mensah at the break and United took just six minutes to draw level.
Superb link-up between Greenwood and Martial eventually led to the former being played in by the Frenchman, with the teenager sending an emphatic left-footed strike past Fabianski.
United were on top from that point but were snatching at opportunities. Worse still, West Ham's threat was not going away.
De Gea impressively tipped over a deflected Jarrod Bowen strike and Ben Johnson flashed wide as West Ham enjoyed a spell in the ascendancy, with Rice whipping just off target from distance.
The drinks break did not bring renewed impetus from the hosts and Fernandes was booked for an altercation with Mark Noble, which led the VAR to check for a possible red card for violent conduct.
The Portuguese did not see red and substitute Odion Ighalo directed wide as the hosts tried, but failed, to eke out a winner.
All eyes will now be on Sunday's fascinating encounter at the King Power, where United only need to avoid defeat.