The Blades improved from last weekend’s 8-0 thrashing at the hands of Newcastle United but went down to goals from Jarred Bowen and Tomas Soucek in the first half. United went closest through Oli McBurnie’s scuffed effort but remain bottom of the Premier League table.
Here’s how we rated United’s players in the capital.

1. Wes Foderingham 6
Made a smart stop to keep out Bowen’s header as a corner nearly proved United’s undoing again, and did well to keep out Paqueta from a tight angle. Other than that relatively untroubled in terms of shots and could do little about West Ham’s goals | Getty Images

2. Jayden Bogle 5
Given a difficult time on occasion by the lively Paqueta but gave as good as he got at times as well, getting forward when he could. Replaced by Trusty in a triple-sub later in the game after some more valuable minutes in the tank | Getty Images

3. Anel Ahmedhodzic 5.5
Was so close to getting United on the scoresheet after Basham headed Hamer’s corner across goal and the Bosnian got his head to it, but Areola did well to keep it out from close-range and from a tight angle | Getty Images

4. John Egan 4
Gave United a big injury concern when he landed awkwardly after attacking a second-half corner and stayed down - after treatment from the physios he limped very gingerly off the field and straight down the tunnel for further treatment, with Basham replacing him | Sportimage