FULL-TIME
West Brom 1-2 Man Utd
Manchester United fans were left biting their fingernails towards the end, but their side claim a narrow victory over West Brom.
- West Brom 1-2 Man Utd
- Lukaku heads opener (27)
- Lingard doubles lead (35)
- Barry pulls one back (77)
- Pardew brings in Burke
- Young, Herrera, Rashford return.
See Post Match Interview With Jose Mourinho
United manager Jose Mourinho speaking to Sky Sports: “I think we deserved the win. We were the best team. I knew and the players knew that West Brom is very dangerous on set-pieces.
“We controlled the game for a long, long time, then manager Alan Pardew reacts. We had a few chances to kill the game but I knew they would react.”
Did United’s levels drop in the second half?
“I think less ambition after the break. The intensity in the first half maybe we didn’t have in the second half. West Brom are really powerful in the air. But after their goal we controlled the game again. We brought the ball into the opposition half.”
Why didn’t Lukaku celebrate his goal?
“I didn’t celebrate too. Nobody was happier than me. Fifteen years ago I look at myself celebrating goals. With maturity you go into levels that you control your emotions better.
“Romelu was a happy kid at West Brom (on loan during the 2012-13 season) – maybe at the back of the mind it was his love for the club.”
- It’s all over at The Hawthorns! United withstand a late West Brom rally to register their sixth win in their last seven Premier League games.
- First-half strikes from Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard see the visitors close the gap to Manchester City to 11 points, but, in the end, relief is the overriding emotion for Jose Mourinho’s men as Gareth Barry’s strike fails to inspire a comeback for the hosts.
- ‘HARD SLOG FOR UNITED’Speaking in the Nissan Super Sunday studio, Graeme Sounessdidn’t mince his words when asked for his assessment of United’s performance…“That was a real, hard slog for United. If you’re a United supporter, you expect them to be better than that against a team that are huffing and puffing. They made hard work of it, it wasn’t a great watch by any means.”
- Alan Pardew has now collected just 28 points from a possible 120 in his last 40 @premierleague games (P40 W6 D10 L24).
- Jamie Redknapp‘s believes West Brom’s second-half display will have pleased manager Alan Pardew…“From a United perspective it was hard to watch. There wasn’t a lot of joy in United’s play. In the second half, once West Brom made it 2-1, anything could have happened. You could see United were under the cosh. Alan Pardew will be pleased with his side’s performance in the second half. Oliver Burke did well, Gareth Barry helped pass better and control the game – there were certainly pleasing elements.”
POST-MATCH FACTS
- Man Utd have won their last three away Premier League games, one more than they managed in their previous 10 on the road (2).
- West Brom are now winless in 16 consecutive league games – the longest run in their entire league history (D8 L8).
- Romelu Lukaku has been involved in eight goals in his last eight Premier League games against former club West Brom (five goals, three assists).
- Lukaku has scored 10 goals in his last 11 Premier League appearances at the Hawthorns, a run which spans games with West Brom, Everton and Man Utd.
- Gareth Barry’s goal was his first as a substitute in the Premier League since April 1999 (for Aston Villa against Nottingham Forest), a gap of 6,812 days.
- Barry was making his 36th Premier League appearance against Man Utd, with only Ryan Giggs (38 v Liverpool) appearing more often against a single opponent in Premier League history.
