The Hammers came into this clash looking for a response following a sobering 5-1 midweek League Cup defeat to Liverpool, while the main talking point surrounding a widely castigated Manchester United side was the inclusion of 19-year-old Willy Kambwala for his senior bow.
Kambwala was only three years old when fellow centre-half Jonny Evans made his first Red Devils debut, in an intriguing defensive partnership.
West Ham had the first chance of the game when Emerson Palmieri was allowed to cut inside from the right and saw his left-footed strike parried to safety by Andre Onana.
Those Hammers fans hoping for a first-half onslaught from their side were left disappointed, while Ten Hag’s side carried very little attacking threat themselves.
That changed when Antony teed up Alejandro Garnacho on the left-hand side, but Areola comfortably denied the winger with his right leg.
Ten Hag’s men were in the ascendancy as the break approached, and Alphonse Areola nearly made a hash of a tame Kobbie Mainoo shot, which he almost parried into his own net.
Bruno Fernandes had failed to score in his previous 10 appearances against West Ham, and that was still on course to change to 11 when his header drifted over the bar from Luke Shaw’s cross at the end of a well-worked move from the visitors.
David Moyes would have been looking for more urgency from his side after the break, and they almost utilised James Ward-Prowse’s devastating set-piece prowess to full effect when Jarrod Bowen met his corner with a bullet header, which Onana brilliantly parried over the bar.
Down at the other end, Kurt Zouma made a brilliant goal-saving interception to clear away Shaw’s cross.
However, a previously subdued London Stadium sparked into life when Bowen gave the Hammers the lead in some style.
The makeshift forward superbly brought down Lucas Paqueta’s excellent lofted ball over the United defence, and his ricocheted finish beat Onana at the near post.
Mohammed Kudus added West Ham’s second, and effectively killed off the contest, with a clinical finish to capitalise on a rare lapse in concentration from Mainoo, following a neat one-two with Paqueta.
There was an early exodus in the away end for those long-suffering United fans, who witnessed their side succumb to a 20th defeat in all competitions in 2023 - equalling the tally set back in 1989.
Meanwhile, this win for West Ham lifts Moyes’ side into the top-six, at least temporarily, as they extended their unbeaten run at the London Stadium to seven matches in all competitions.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Lucas Paqueta (West Ham)
