Manchester United 0-0 West Ham United

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial has now failed to score in his past five games

Manchester United dropped to fourth in the Premier League after being held to a goalless draw by West Ham.

The visitors had the better chances in the contest, hitting the post twice in quick succession through Mauro Zarate followed by Winston Reid's header.

Zarate dragged an effort wide in the second half and Marouane Fellaini forced Adrian into a smart save.

Striker Anthony Martial struck a shot narrowly wide as the hosts failed to break down West Ham.

Louis van Gaal's side have conceded just once at home in the league all season, but their problems lie at the other end of the pitch, where they found the target only once from 20 efforts against the Hammers. It meant they missed the chance to go second and take advantage of rivals Manchester City's 2-0 loss at Stoke.

It could have been worse, though, had midfielder Bastian Schweinsteiger been sent off for raising his arm at West Ham defender Reid in the first half - the incident went unpunished by the referee.

• Relive the goalless draw from Old Trafford here

• Goals are coming, says Van Gaal

Fans unhappy with wayward Man Utd

Captain Wayne Rooney has borne the brunt of much of the Old Trafford fans' frustration this season, unhappy with the striker's contributions as well as the team's style of play.

Manchester United striker Anthony Martial (9) was the furthest man forward, but was he left isolated? The Frenchman had 46 touches, the fewest of any home outfield player who played the full game.

The side managed a narrow 2-1 victory at Watford in their last top-flight game without him but this time they failed to break down a resolute West Ham defence.

Van Gaal's preference for a slow and patient build-up has now yielded five goalless draws in his side's past nine games in all competitions.

Martial, on his 20th birthday, was deployed as the furthest man forward and had chances in both halves, but failed to work Spanish keeper Adrian, while Jesse Lingard blazed wide late on.

A visiting goalkeeper at Old Trafford can generally expect to be kept busy, but only had one save to make from Fellaini's close-range shot, much to the dissatisfaction of the home support who booed their team off at full-time.

Reid leads way to a welcome shut-out

Prior to this game, West Ham boss Slaven Bilic had masterminded impressive away wins at Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool. The Hammers could easily have made Manchester United another scalp.

Sitting back for much of the game, they caused their hosts problems on the break as winger Victor Moses struck straight at David de Gea when through on goal early on.

But it was in defence that the visitors were most impressive, led by the central defensive partnership of Winston Reid and Angelo Ogbonna. Both players made seven clearances in the match - the most of anyone on the pitch.

In front of them, midfielder Alex Song made his first start of the season following injury and added bite, making seven tackles - more than any other player.

It was a welcome clean sheet for West Ham, who had gone nine games without one before this, but they have now gone five games in the league without victory.

Man of the match - Winston Reid

A rock at the centre of the West Ham defence, Reid would not have deserved to be on the losing side. He put his body on the line when required and stepped out from the back at the right times to frustrate Manchester United.

What they said:

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal: "The most important thing is you dominate, create and you finish. Football is scoring goals. The first two basic aspects of football we have done. When you don't finish from a metre in front of an empty goal you can say nothing anymore."

West Ham boss Slaven Bilic: On the clash between Bastian Schweinsteiger and Winston Reid: "To be fair I didn't see it when it happened. At half-time they showed me and it's a clear red card. A straight red without any doubts.

"I said to the referee I can't blame him because he simply didn't see it and it happens. They were concentrating on the ball and I can't blame him no matter how disappointed we are."

What next?

Manchester United head to Germany on Tuesday (kick-off 19:45 GMT) almost certainly needing a win against Wolfsburg to stay in the Champions League, while West Ham host Stoke in the Premier League next Saturday (kick-off 15:00 GMT).

The stats you need to know

• Manchester United are unbeaten in their last 14 Premier League meetings with West Ham, winning 11 and drawing three

• United have kept nine clean sheets this season, the most in the Premier League. They racked up 11 in the whole of last season

• The Red Devils have lost just two Premier League home games in 2015, a joint-lowest along with Arsenal and Tottenham

• West Ham have taken 14 points from away games this campaign, having secured just 16 last season under Sam Allardyce