David de Gea and Lisandro Martinez celebrate after United beat West Ham.

Leadership demonstrated by Martinez

In spite of the fact that Harry Maguire was the one who actually wore the captain's armband for Manchester United, it was Lisandro Martinez who emerged as the clear leader of the defense in their match against West Ham.

Martinez once again demonstrated his greatness for United by playing courageously and aggressively in defense, energizing his team, and making outstanding use of the ball. As well as being loud with the officials, he was vocal with his own teammates.

Martinez appears to be United's only consistent defensive option despite the recent loss to Raphael Varane and the illness to Victor Lindelof, but United's defensive depth is being tested as a result. He has played with all three of them on at least three separate times, and he continues to lead impressively regardless of who he is playing with.

After missing the opening two matches of the season, Harry Maguire had his first appearance in a Premier League starting eleven since then, and he did not disappoint defensively. His passing wasn't even close to being as precise as Martinez's, so he had to resort to a couple of desperate lunges to try and make up for it. The proactive strategy taken by United's coaching staff under Erik ten Hag sometimes forces the center backs to defend one-on-one, which is not one of Maguire's primary strengths.

However, he was successful in doing the fundamentals, and it was probably enough for the England manager Gareth Southgate, who was watching. Martinez, on the other hand, was the defensive shining light.

In the second half, there was one outstanding block from a shot taken by Gianluca Scamacca, which was followed by a daring header that resulted in him receiving a boot to the head from the forward. His hostility is nothing new, but it did help to thwart some potentially hazardous attacks at various points.

It is impossible not to catch the Argentine's passion to perform the grunt work defensively, to jump into the fray and battle for his teammates, because it is contagious. Maguire rose to the challenge when United were punted back in the second half, and David de Gea made a number of superb stops to keep United in the game.

The evolution of Dalot's character

Diogo Dalot is an additional player who appears to be benefiting from Martinez's approach to defending the ball. A year ago, his future with United appeared quite dismal at that point. He was unable to displace Aaron Wan-Bissaka in the starting lineup and had not started a Premier League game since October of this year.

This run would come to an end in December of last year, and now Dalot is one of the first names on the team sheet. He is a dynamic full-back who checks practically every box for Ten Hag. The Dutchman expects a lot from his full-backs, and Dalot has shown that he is willing to fulfill those expectations by frequently moving into the midfield and posing a threat from wide positions.

The fact that Dalot is the only outfield player to start every game under Ten Hag is partly due to his progress and partly due to the absence of Wan-Bissaka from the squad. However, Dalot deserves plenty of credit for the improvement he's showing in his own game, and he should be credited for being the only player to start every game under Ten Hag.

In the game versus West Ham, the defensive performance was by far the most remarkable part. United did not put on a convincing display, and they were put under a significant amount of pressure in the second half; yet, Dalot proved essential to their success.

He routinely tucked in at the back post as the Hammers tried to launch an aerial assault, and the right back won four critical headers in hazardous positions, which helped United to keep a crucial three points in the game.

The top four objectives

After losing their first two games of the Premier League season to Brighton and Brentford, it seemed unlikely that Manchester United would finish in the top four of the league. However, it is now possible that United will be in fourth place by the time the Premier League season is interrupted for the World Cup.

The turnaround that United has seen is truly extraordinary, and the club ought to have higher goals for the remainder of the season than simply placing fourth. Although they are only six points behind City, Pep Guardiola's notion that they are still in the title chase could seem a little far-fetched. However, placing second or third appears to be an entirely conceivable possibility.

The most promising thing for United is that under Ten Hag, there are gains that can be seen practically every week, and there is no reason to believe that such improvements won't continue in the second half of the season. It was a hard-fought victory, but the most important thing is that we prevailed.

United have the opportunity to restore some dominance and establish themselves firmly back in the top four in a season in which Liverpool are experiencing a severe decline in their performance, and in which Tottenham and Chelsea are far from convincing.

Currently being worked on

The fact that United are still a work in progress under Ten Hag's direction was brought home despite the fact that they have been entertaining to watch in recent games, particularly against Tottenham and Chelsea.

United controlled those games at times and has done well against the larger clubs this season. However, they have had a harder time beating opponents that have come at them with a more defensive mindset, and this has made it more difficult for them.

Their triumphs over Southampton, Leicester City, Everton, and West Ham have all been decided by a single goal, and they have had difficulty breaking down the defensive structures of those teams.

Because of their poor performance in the second half of one of those games against West Ham, they were forced to put up a significant defensive wall. Some of those games have needed them to soak up periods of pressure. The team managed by David Moyes would be upset since they were unable to get the equalizer they possibly deserved.

It was clear that United's inability to exert control over the second half of their match against West Ham irritated Ten Hag, as he became increasingly upset on the touchline as his team continued to give up possession of the ball for no good reason time and time again.

His replacements have, for the most part, made a positive contribution this season, but the decision to put Scott McTominay and Fred into this match would have been seen as an invitation to pressure. Ten Hag will undoubtedly explain that he was trying to gain more control, but the result was that United was forced to drop deeper, and they lost ground in the middle of the field.

In the end, they owed it all to a valiant effort on defense and some outstanding goalkeeping from David de Gea. Both of these factors were crucial.

The awakening of Sancho's senses

The fact that United hadn't put Anthony Elanga in the starting lineup since September 8 makes it hard to argue that the academy graduate had played his way into the team. Instead, there was an unmistakable indication that Jadon Sancho was playing himself out of a spot in the starting XI.

After a promising preseason and a bright start to the season, Sancho has recently retreated into his shell, and he felt that it was telling that he was replaced early in the second half at Stamford Bridge last week, being replaced by a midfielder in Fred. This came after Sancho had a bright start to the season and a promising preseason.