West Ham defeat exposed the truth about Manchester United draw with Liverpool FC

Manchester United were knocked back down to earth after an embarrassing defeat at the hands of West Ham on Saturday afternoon.

Erik ten Hag's side never got going at the London Stadium as goals from Jarrod Bowen and Mohammed Kudus secured a thoroughly deserved victory for the home side.

Rasmus Hojlund endured another difficult day in front of goal and it is now almost six and a half hours since United last scored a goal against any side.

Here are the main talking points from the match:

PLAYER RATINGS: Kambwala good and Antony poor

MATCH REACTION: Weghorst blames Ten Hag for lack of goals

United looked like they had settled upon the perfect short-term defensive solution last week; the problem was that it had an even shorter shelfline than they could have imagined.

Raphael Varane missed out due to illness, meaning that teenage defender Willy Kambwala was thrown in for his debut. He and Jonny Evans were the 10th different centre-back pairing United have used already this season.

For all the valid criticism of United this season, it is hard to look beyond their defensive injury crisis as a key contributing factor to their lack of identity, consistency, and momentum.

Neither would even be guaranteed a place on the bench if they had a fully fit backline to choose from, which makes their performance at the London Stadium that bit more impressive.

Kambwala at least gives them another of those short-term solutions and if handled carefully, he could be a long-term one as well.

Marcus Rashford has now been on the bench for four matches in a row as he recovers from illness, but even if he were fully fit, it would be hard to justify a starting role for him.

Rasmus Hojlund is the only option through the middle and Alejandro