Manchester United 0-1 West Brom – player ratings
Manchester United fell to a bottom half team in West Brom by a goal to nil, resulting in their third consecutive defeat.
United dominated possession for the entire first half but didn’t really put on that much pressure until the second half. As has become habitual this season, West Brom sat and absorbed pressure before eventually scoring a goal off a set piece against the run of play.
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From there on, the Red Devils kept the pressure on but failed to equalize. Robin van Persie and Paddy McNair had the two best chances, with the Dutchman missing a penalty and the young defender missing a free header off a corner. It was a combination of being poor in the final third and being unlucky in the defensive third that sealed the fate for Louis van Gaal’s squad.
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David de Gea (6/10)
The Spaniard had a couple easy saves to make in the first half, with the shots directly at him. He made a small mistake by making an errant pass out-of-bounds in Blind’s direction, but other than that had an uneventful game. On the goal from the set piece, he could make no attempt as the shot was deflected off West Brom’s player in the wall.
Antonio Valencia (5/10)
He nearly cost us a goal off a corner by falling and losing Lescott. Aside from some good link up play on the wing with Mata, the winger turned full back struggled with sending in accurate crosses. He did win a couple of corners of deflected crosses and eventually won United’s best chance with a called handball in the box from one of his crosses, but otherwise it was the typical frustrating showing from Valencia.
Chris Smalling (6/10)
Smalling looked comfortable in possession thanks to little pressure from the Baggies. In the first half, he played a beautiful long ball into van Persie’s feet but the striker failed to control. Late in the game, he linked up fairly well with the midfielders and won several headers to keep the attacks alive. Defensively, the center back controlled Berahino for the entire game and had little to do as West Brom sat back in defense.
Paddy McNair (5/10)
McNair had similar play to Smalling, standing up well to the few West Brom attacks and looking good going forward. Unfortunately for the young player, he conceded the free kick that led to the goal by fouling former United midfielder Darren Fletcher just outside the box. The game didn’t prove to be much of a test for the prospect, as his biggest involvement came by surging forward with the ball at his feet. He also missed United’s second best chance of the game, as mentioned, which could have rescued a draw. Falcao replaced McNair in the 83rd minute to add another attacking threat.
Daley Blind (7/10)
He started the game at left back due to Luke Shaw’s absence and had a much better performance than last week, despite one missed tackle on Dawson that could have led to another goal. Blind played well with Young on the left as usual but was caught out of position a couple of times. He had a strike on goal that hit Fellaini in the back before being taken off in the 63rd minute for Angel di Maria.
Ander Herrera (6/10)
April’s Player of the Month started at holding midfield and played mostly safe passes while taking unnecessary touches which somewhat stymied the United attack at times. He over-hit two crosses to the back post and under-hit a through ball for Mata that could have resulted in chances for Manchester United. In comparison to Michael Carrick, Herrera seems less willing to play the dangerous pass into tight space in the hopes of breaking down the opposition. In a game where West Brom sat and held their line, the slow build up play only worked in their favor.
Juan Mata (6/10)
The Spaniard did well in possession but cut into the middle too often rather than staying wide to maintain space. He had a great long ball to Young to set up an attack, but similar to Herrera he was taking too many touches on the ball. Mata had a chance on goal blocked on the goal line as there were always plenty of WBA players behind the ball. It’s been a bit of a struggle for Mata in recent weeks and that continued into today’s match as he was unable to have a major impact on the play despite constant involvement.
Marouane Fellaini (6/10)
The big man held up play well and contributed defensively with clearing headers. He often found himself to be the highest man up the pitch when van Persie dropped in deep and eventually became the lone target man. He had a good lay off to Herrera leading to a shot that went wide as well as a chance of his own where he lost the ball at his feet. Towards the end of the game when Manchester United switched to a direct approach, Fellaini surprisingly struggled to win many headers.
Wayne Rooney (7/10)
In addition to making a couple good challenges, especially for a striker, Rooney was the most likely midfielder to break down the defense by playing long searching balls to quickly change the point of attack. He took a shot from distance with some power that only found its way into the keepers arms. The striker played in the midfield and did his best to spur on the United attack, but it was to no avail.
Ashley Young (8/10)
The left winger looked to be the most dangerous player in the first half, driving at defenders and playing the ball across the face of goal. The best chance of the game came from his driven ground pass into van Persie which eventually went harmlessly wide. When di Maria came on, Young dropped into the left back role to fill the void vacated by Blind’s absence.
Robin van Persie (4/10)
The Dutchman came back into the squad after missing a lengthy spell due to injury and his rust showed. He was making some good runs and getting involved, but he missed wide on the game’s best chance in the first half as well as missing from the penalty spot. In truth, the take wasn’t far enough into the corner to avoid the keeper’s outstretched arms. He did have a good shot late that the keeper again was able to save, but his contributions were limited by van Gaal’s questionable decision to drop him into the midfield late in the match.