Louis van Gaal’s side hosted West Brom at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon right before the teams go into the international break. Manchester United were good in recent games with a win in mid-week in the Champions League against CSKA Moscow and the Dutch manager was hoping for more of the same from his players in the Premier League as well. There were a lot of chances created in the first half especially for the home side and despite dominating proceedings in the opening 45, United were unable to break an organized West Brom side. After the break, United finally took the lead when Jesse Lingard placed a well-taken shot into the bottom right corner in the 52nd minute of the match.
The Red Devils looked the better side as they were the ones showing positive intent, though no further goals were added till Anthony Martial was fouled towards the end in the box, earning his side a penalty. Juan Mata stepped up to the spot to add a second and secure all three points for his side.
Player Ratings
David De Gea: 5.5/10
Not tested too much in the game. He made a couple of silly errors which could have brought the opposition back into the game.
Ashley Young: 6/10
A comfortable evening for him as West Brom sat back and did not look too keen to attack. Pushed forward quite a few times, though he lacked quality in the final third.
Chris Smalling: 7/10
Did his job and stuck to Rondon, keeping him quiet for most of the game with his quick pace and was solid in defence.
Daley Blind: 6/10
Looked a bit uncomfortable at times against the trickery of Rondon, though he carried and distributed the ball really well when he had it at his feet.
Marcos Rojo: 7/10
A really good game for the Argentine international, who put in some lovely crosses and looked a constant threat. Booked in the second half for a foul and was eventually taken off by Van Gaal in the 76th minute.
Michael Carrick: 6/10
A decent first half performance as he had his say in the midfield play and pushed forward on occasions as well. Had a quieter second period in comparison.
Bastian Schweinsteiger: 6/10
Kept the ball well for his side, running around with it quite a bit and switching play from one side to the other occasionally. Despite that, could not really dominate the game as much as he would have liked to.
Jesse Lingard: 8/10
The youngster looked quite impressive on the wings more often than not and scored the opening goal of the game with a superbly taken shot with a pack of defenders in front of him. Linked up well with his team-mates right through the match and was impressive.
Juan Mata: 7/10
Had the opportunity to score from a well-curled shot in the first half, yet failed to do so. The link up play was quite good, yet the final finish was not meant to be on the night. However, got himself a goal with a cool and composed penalty kick in second half stoppage time.
Anthony Martial: 7/10
His pace kept troubling the opposition players and it eventually resulted in United getting a penalty towards the end when he was brought down in the box, which Mata finished off.
Wayne Rooney: 6/10
Failed to impress once again, while his team-mates looked much better in the game. There is no denying the fact that he did put in a good shift in the game and had good vision, yet nothing really to show for it.
Substitutes
Phil Jones: 5/10
Replaced Ashley young on the 62nd minute to add more solidity to the defence as United looked to hold on to the lead.
Ander Herrera: 5/10
Came on for Wayne Rooney on the 82nd minute and found Martial with a lob which resulted in the penalty being awarded to his side.
Cameron Borthwick-Jackson: 5/10
Substituted for Rojo after a superb performance by the defensive superstar and failed to make a major impact on the game.
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