Manchester United manager Louis Van Gaal warned today that he might have to play Marouane Fellaini more often, and adopt the direct style that salvaged a point against West Ham, if his creative players continue to let him down.

The Dutch manager admitted that he had to go direct in the second half with the Belgian, introduced to the team as a substitute for Adnan Januzaj, having a decisive effect in getting the injury-time equaliser for Daley Blind. West Ham had led since early in the second half through a goal from Cheikhou Kouyate and were by far the better team before the break. On the introduction of Fellaini after 72 minutes, Van Gaal said: “I have done that already a lot of times with Fellaini, so that is not new. West Ham should know that. With him we have more power. With Adnan and [Angel] Di Maria, we have more creative players. That's why the second ball you cannot always win. [We] have to win that second ball otherwise I will always have to line-up players like Fellaini.”

The West Ham manager Sam Allardyce joked that he hoped Van Gaal would get as much criticism for playing direct football as his English counterpart has done in the recent past. He said: “You might just criticise Louis Van Gaal for playing long ball as much as I’m sometimes criticised for being direct. In the end it’s paid off for them. You can’t knock it in the end!”

West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Show all 22 1 /22 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings West Ham: Adrian Impressive performance from the Spanish goalkeeper. He wasn’t tested too many times but when he was, in particular from Robin van Persie in the second half, he stood firm. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Carl Jenkinson Not as effective as he has been recently. He struggled to cope with Radamel Falcao and allowed Adnan Januzaj to get the wrong side of him too often. Came close to scoring when his cross-cum-effort when inches past David de Gea’s goal. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Cheikhou Kouyate What a goal. He did excellently to turn and shoot past David de Gea. Alongside the composed figure of James Tomkins he was able to express himself. He was also the most effective at stifling Angel di Maria. 8 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings James Tomkins Back into the team and he did not disappoint. He kept composed when his defence was under threat and did brilliantly to block a Robin van Persie effort that looked destined for the back of the West Ham net in the second half. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Aaron Cresswell Consistently he has been one of West Ham’s best players this season. Defensively not much gets past him and he’s no slouch at getting forward. His delivery from the left is superb. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Alex Song Made a few sloppy errors in the first half. Lucky not to have been punished when his pass across his own box was intercepted by Robin van Persie. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Kevin Nolan Still not a fans’ favourite as the fans near the press box in the west stand made clear. He was constantly overrun in midfield and wasn’t able to deal with Wayne Rooney running at him. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Mark Noble Dependable performance from Mr West Ham. Tireless work marking Adnan Januzaj, who can break quickly, but Noble dealt with him well. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Stewart Downing Behind Diafra Sakho and Enner Valencia, the English midfielder seemed to run into trouble a little too often and didn’t press forward as much as he has been able to before. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Enner Valencia A constant threat to the Manchester United defence. Used his pace effectively to move into areas where the ball could be fed to him. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Diafra Sakho No sign of his recent back injury causing him any bother. He didn’t use his physicality as well as he should have and was too slow to react in the final third. No doubt he’ll get his sharpness back with a few more matches. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Manchester United: David De Gea Sharp to react to the penetrating runs of Enner Valencia and Diafra Sakho. Did brilliantly to deny Valencia in the first half. Beaten by a strong Cheikhou Kouyate volley. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Phil Jones Handled the physicality of Diafra Sakho well. He won the majority of 50/50 balls in the air against the Senegal international. A composed performance. Could possibly have done better to stop Cheikhou Kouyate getting his shot away. 5 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Luke Shaw Caught out of possession a few times by Enner Valencia who never allowed him out of his sights. Pressed forward well. Sent off for a horror tackle on Stewart Downing. 5 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Antonio Valencia One of Manchester United’s best players against West Ham. Highly effective on the right. Worked particularly hard to support the attack but made sure to track back when required. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Marcos Rojo He never stopped grafting. Very quick out of defence but covered for Luke Shaw when the English defender pushed up. He did pick up an unnecessary yellow card for a reckless tackle on Mark Noble. 6 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Angel di Maria In behind Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao, the Argentinian playmaker struggled to make an impact. His delivery from set pieces were particularly poor as they failed to beat the first defender. 5 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Adnan Januzaj 50th game for Manchester United three days after he turned 20. Early on his was relatively effective on the left side but as Carl Jenkinson started to read where he was going the Belgian ran out of options. Replaced by Marouane Fellaini after 72 minutes. 5 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Wayne Rooney A little out position but his ability to link up the midfield and attack is always required. A threat to West Ham after the Hammers took the lead. Very creative from a fairly deep role. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Daley Blind Not as strong as he has been. Playing in front of the defence you expected him to stay calm and tidy up loose balls. Bypassed a little too easily by Stewart Downing. Scored a beautiful goal to bring his side level. 7 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Radamel Falcao Too often he appears a little too casual. His movement created space but when he got the ball he didn’t progress play often enough. Missed a sitter to level the scores when one-on-one with Adrian. 5 West Ham 1 Manchester United 1 player ratings Robin Van Persie Failed to punish Alex Song’s mistake in the first half when the midfielder played across his own box. Didn’t link up with Radamel Falcao as much as he has done previously. Should have levelled the match with minutes remaining. Good movement, though. 6

Van Gaal blamed a poor first half performance on his team’s failure to win second balls in the first half, and lacking the courage to pass the ball effectively. He said: “First of all we don't win the second ball, but when we win the ball then we lose the ball too easily. I don't think West Ham were giving us pressure on our ball. Not so high [pressure]. That I have said also at half-time. We need the guts to play football along the floor. That we have done in the second half.”

Van Gaal acknowledged that his team had missed a chance to make up further ground on second place Manchester City. He said: “They have lost points … now we don't make this gap [smaller]. It is a missed chance.”

“I thought that we played very badly in the first half, West Ham were much better. They won every second ball and when we had the ball we lost the ball so easily, without great pressure of West Ham. It was very poor in the first half. In the second half after three minutes they scored and we gave that ball away, I think.

“Then my team showed fantastic spirit and also fantastic football. We created a lot of chances, three open chances, [that forced saves from] the goalkeeper, Adrian. My opinion is that we could've won this game.”

Allardyce said that his team had deserved to win. “We had many opportunities but I think it was a great shame we conceded that game as late as we did, which wasn’t the normal goal you conceded against Manchester United. It was just a punt up the middle.