Manchester United 1 West Ham 1: Jose Mourinho sent off yet again as Zlatan Ibrahimovic spares Red Devils' blushes

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Sam Long27 November 2016

Jose Mourinho was sent to the stands as Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by West Ham at Old Trafford on Sunday.

The Red Devils boss reacted furiously after Paul Pogba received a yellow card for diving and was given his marching orders by referee Jonathan Moss with an FA punishment surely set to follow for the Portuguese.

The hosts' afternoon ended in frustration and it began in disatrous fashion when - with the game just over a minute old - Dimitri Payet whipped in a teasing free kick, allowing Diafra Sakho to beat his marker and head home at the near post.

But United soon found their rhythm and drew level as Pogba produced a delightful ball over the top of the Hammers' three-man defence and Zlatan Ibrahimovic guided a header past Darren Randolph.

Pogba began to pull the strings, orchestrating United'a attacks, but found himself under the spotlight for all the wrong reasons just before the half hour mark.

The Frenchman threw himself to the ground following a challenge from Mark Noble but Moss - correctly - booked the world's most expensive footballer for his troubles, ruling Pogba out of Wednesday's EFL Cup quarter final.

Mourinho - incensed by the decision - punted a water bottle down the touchline in frustration and it proved to be a costly decision as the United chief was dismissed.

But United seemed to find another gear despite their manager's absence and Marcus Rashford should have put his side in front after being sent clean through only to encounter Darren Randolph in inspired form.

Neither side set the world alight during a scrappy start to the second half and Payet continued to be the source of the visitors' best moments with the midfielder unfortunate not to catch out David de Gea courtesy of a free kick disguised as a cross.

Wayne Rooney and Henrikh Mkhitaryan were introduced as United struggled to make a breakthrough and the former almost made an immediate impact but Randolph was equal to his effort.

Pogba, Ibrahimovic and Lingard all went close during a frantic final few minutes but Slaven Bilic's side dug in to secure a valuable point - with the visitors indebted to Randolph for a succession of fine saves.

The Hammers will be back in four days' time to do it all again - with an EFL Cup semi-final place up for grabs - but Mourinho may not be in attendance.

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