Premier League: Cristiano Ronaldo starts for Manchester United, but Casemiro take all the praise in the 1-0 West Ham United victory

Sunday's narrow 1-0 victory over West Ham brought Manchester United closer to the Premier League's top four.

Marcus Rashford's header resulted in his 100th United goal, and he continued to grow in form as he scored the game-winning goal for his team.

Cristiano Ronaldo started his first Premier League game for Manchester United after refusing to come on as a substitute against Tottenham and leaving the game early.

After opponents dropped points this weekend, Erik ten Hag's squad secured a crucial three points in their penultimate home league match before the World Cup break. With a game in hand, the Red Devils advance to fifth place, only two points behind fourth.

While David Moyes' squad also made a valiant effort late in the game and might have earned a point if not for a fantastic save by David de Gea on Declan Rice.

United's triumph, which vaults them over Chelsea into fifth place in the standings, one point behind fourth-placed Newcastle, was preserved by De Gea's spectacular save to deny Declan Rice in stoppage time.

Before Sunday's match, David Moyes had never won at Old Trafford as an opposing manager in the Premier League, a streak of 15 games. However, his West Ham side performed admirably in the first half despite the rain in Manchester.

Now, they remain at the bottom part of the table, and their dismal season opening continues.

Erik Ten Hag heaps of praise on Casemiro in Manchester United's win

The manager of Manchester United, Erik ten Hag, praised Casemiro after another outstanding performance for the Red Devils. Casemiro was instrumental in United's 1-0 victory at West Ham, maintaining another clean sheet.

After the game, Ten Hag praised his contribution; he said: "For me, he's been brilliant. You can see why he's won five Champions League trophies."

Manchester United paid £60 million to sign Casemiro from Real Madrid. He has established himself as a regular in the starting XI; a player Ten Hag is now very reluctant to drop.

Speaking about his team's overall performance, ten Hag said, "It's a nice compliment," Ten Hag remarked, "but I also see a lot of room for improvement in our game, and we have to if we want to compete for the top four positions, we have to improve."

"We have a massive keeper, he's really composed, really controlled, he had the confidence. He made some great saves."

"But when I see how the back four is defending the box, really good cooperation, really well closing gaps, supporting each other, covering each other and going for the battles, that's what they're doing, and it gives a really good spirit and fight to the team."