Manchester United beat West Ham United 1-0 at Old Trafford through a late Marcus Rashford goal, and visiting midfielder Declan Rice had some praise for his team’s top four rivals after the game
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In pictures: Man Utd v West Ham
West Ham United midfielder Declan Rice has been linked with a move to Manchester United in the past, and his comments after his team’s defeat at Old Trafford won’t do much to quell Hammers fans’ worries.
Rice played the full 90 minutes as his team fell to a 1-0 loss, with Marcus Rashford scoring the only goal of the game deep into time added on.
The result saw Ralf Rangnick’s team replace their opponents in the top four, and the West Ham and England midfielder offered the hosts a compliment after the game as he was interviewed in front of the TV cameras.
While Rice was warned by former West Ham man Joe Cole not to make an Old Trafford switch, it was yet another game in which the 23-year-old showed what he can offer the best teams in the country.
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“I was loving it,” Rice said, despite seeing his team fall just short of what would have been an impressive away point.
“Every time I come to Old Trafford, I’ve always said it’s one of my favourite places to play. It’s an amazing stadium.”
Rice was heavily linked with United over the summer, after playing his part in England’s run to the final of Euro 2020, but other clubs – including Chelsea, where he spent much of his youth career – could also find themselves in the mix.
He has never won a game at Old Trafford, having been rested for West Ham’s Carabao Cup win there earlier this season, but was part of the line-ups which beat United at the London Stadium in 2018 and 2019.
Rice has been a regular for West Ham this season, making his 150th Premier League appearance earlier in the campaign and captaining the club in the absence of regular skipper Mark Noble.
However, despite reported interest from clubs who may be able to offer him Champions League football, former Hammers man Cole saw no reason for him to leave.
“I wouldn’t go if I was Declan Rice, no. I think you run the risk of going there and still not winning trophies,” the 40-year-old, who left West Ham for Chelsea at the age of 21, said after the game.
West Ham have fallen out of the top four after successive defeats, with Leeds United beating them at the London Stadium six days before the Old Trafford reverse, and Cole asked whether Rice needs more quality around him.
“I think if Man City were on the table, you’d go there because in recent years it guarantees you trophies and I think Declan would want that.
“But for me there’s no reason for him to not stay at West Ham if the progress is still going in that [upward] pattern, but that’s for him and the owners. He needs better players around him at West Ham to go to that next level.”
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