There was no added time after the Fergie Time. David Moyes never savoured such a moment at Manchester United but Ralf Rangnick has just seven weeks into his interim reign.
Manchester United are back in the top four for the first time since the beginning of the end for their previous manager. The dramatic climax at Old Trafford, crowned by the poaching Marcus Rashford, signalled the season-high in a season laden with lows. Several supporters stayed behind, merrily singing long after the players had disappeared down the tunnel.
Rashford, Anthony Martial and Edinson Cavani were all introduced and all combined for the 93rd-minute winner. Martial, subjected to boos by a minority, overcame a wasted chance just a minute earlier to play in Cavani to tee up Rashford. A staff member piled in on the celebratory melee in front of the Stretford End.
Moyes, piqued by the referee's refusal to add any more time on following the ecstatic celebrations and a strangely swift check by the Video Assistant Referee, was seconds away from keeping West Ham in fourth. That is now United's privilege, at least for 24 hours.
A raucous away following in a victory that became a procession and a last-second winner in the space of a week; this is the United the matchgoers recognise and long for. They have been so spoilt they might not mind the 13-day gap until the next fixture.
United were seconds away from prolonging the pattern of winning every other game under Rangnick. Finally, they broke it to secure consecutive victories and their players can rest happily on the beaches of Dubai and beyond.
Rashford's tap-in was an incongruous climax in a match that had until then served up two efforts on target. Cristiano Ronaldo's repertoire of remonstrating was as entertaining as it got; Mason Greenwood was advised to provide an inswinger, Harry Maguire was rebuked for not cushioning the ball and the referee's understanding of the rules was questioned. At full-time, Ronaldo flashed that full-beam smile. It was Rashford's turn to take the glory.
Rashford would not appreciate a 'super sub' status but it is from there that he has been jolted. His composed side-footer in midweek was encouraging and the winner against West Ham enthralling. It marked his fourth injury-time winner in the Premier League.
On a day United re-entered the top four, their goalkeeper dithered over distribution in the 77th minute. Rangnick, like his predecessor, waited until an hour to freshen up the attack with a substitution and the wait for the second was inordinate.
Happily for the German, Cavani and Martial were instrumental and the gung-ho approach secured one of the high points of Rangnick's coaching career. United had one defender on the bench and a substitute was bound to be decisive. United's risk-taking, a throwback to yesteryear, was vindicated.
West Ham played in the image of their manager. Moyes is still without a Premier League win at the old 'top four' of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and United almost 20 years on from his promotion to the top tier with Everton.
United paid them an excessive amount of respect. West Ham are enjoying a superb season and there was a palpable reluctance to underestimate them by switching to a more open formation. Doing so elicited the matchwinner.
It was an uplifting day for individuals, too. Maguire executed three firm but fair challenges that elicited applause and got the crowd onside. Rangnick, Bruno Fernandes and Ronaldo were on Greenwood's case for slack pressing or selfishness, with Ronaldo, especially aggrieved Greenwood's eyes were only on the goal and not his teammate, explicitly gesturing to the 20-year-old to cross. He was happier with Diogo Dalot's selfless service.
Greenwood got the memo and his selflessness was evident when he charged back into his own area to halt Jarrod Bowen's charge, earning him a high-five from Dalot. This was a day for defending. Raphael Varane was class personified once more, making Michail Antonio look the harmless battering ram he should be against the elite.
The riled Ronaldo turned on Maguire for ceding possession in the first-half, a diversion tactic as he was stood so far offside he was almost in a different time zone. Ronaldo was denied two patent penalties at West Ham in September and vainly appealed for another when Kurt Zouma's contact did not constitute a foul. He squandered the sole opening from an innovative Fernandes centre.
Maguire's representatives have been on the PR offensive of late amid his benchwarming role in a season he has hardly performed. He was lacking defensively when Jarrod Bowen latched onto a loose ball and was cleaned out by the United captain but this was a return to form. Frustration crept in with a back-pass that Maguire, piqued by the lack of guidance, took out on Alex Telles.
Declan Rice's screen test was a triumph. Fernandes and Ronaldo were dispossessed in separate instances and he motored past his counterpart Scott McTominay, forced to upend the England international. The only United player who got the better of Rice was Marcus Rashford within a minute of his introduction on the hour. Rice was correctly cautioned for a cynical tug.
"Ronaldo in that pocket is killing us again," said one of the West Ham analysts. He was there for the winner, freeing Martial and Cavani on the left and Rashford on the right.
Sir Alex Ferguson leapt from his seat in Fergie time.
