Saturday 2 May 2015 21:28, UK
We take a look at some of the top talking points after West Brom stunned Manchester United with a 1-0 win at Old Trafford.
Louis van Gaal’s side dominated the encounter from start to finish but the Baggies went in front when Chris Brunt’s free kick deflected in off Jonas Olsson, and Boaz Myhill saved a Robin van Persie penalty as the visitors clung on for a famous victory.
While West Brom celebrated a second successive Premier League win at Old Trafford, United were left to reflect on three consecutive league defeats for the first time since 2001.
Heroic Myhill
West Brom’s victory owed an awful lot to Myhill, the second-choice goalkeeper who is shining in the absence of Ben Foster. After keeping clean sheets against Crystal Palace and Liverpool, the 32-year-old had to be even better to make it three in a row against United.
Myhill’s superb save from Robin van Persie’s 74th-minute penalty was a decisive moment. The striker had scored each of his last six attempts from the spot and Sky Sports pundit Dwight Yorke was impressed by Myhill’s anticipation. “He had to go early to save that because of the way (Van Persie) hit it and the pace he put on it. Had he gone a second later he wouldn’t have got to it,” the former United striker said.
Myhill followed that up by denying Van Persie again as he dived to his left to pull off a stunning one-handed save in the last minute of normal time. “That’s just pure class,” said Thierry Henry. “I think saving the penalty gave him the confidence to think he was going to be unbeatable.”
The former Wales international kept his wits about him in stoppage time too, tipping over a fierce drive by Angel Di Maria as United desperately tried to find a way through. In total, the hosts had 26 efforts on goal, nine of which were on target. Myhill was equal to everything they threw at him.
Smash and grab
West Brom’s starting line-up was a clear indication of Tony Pulis’s game plan, with Claudio Yacob, Darren Fletcher and Youssuf Mulumbu deployed to protect a back four of Craig Dawson, Jonas Olsson, Gareth McAuley and Joleon Lescott – all of whom are natural centre-backs.
“We knew in advance that they would park the bus,” noted Van Gaal afterwards. But away sides do not triumph at Old Trafford by adopting a gung-ho approach, and Pulis’s men deserve immense credit for a resilient defensive performance.
United had 80 per cent of the possession – the highest in the Premier League all season and the second highest since 2003 – but West Brom limited them to only a handful of real chances.
“We worked on making it difficult,” said Fletcher, who won the free kick for West Brom’s goal on his return to Old Trafford. “We tried to make sure they were playing in front of us, not between the lines and not wide. We work hard on set pieces all the time anyway, and thankfully one has come off today. The game plan to frustrate them worked.”
Van Gaal tactics questioned
After a frustrating first half, Van Gaal elected to move Marouane Fellaini up front, with Van Persie dropping deeper alongside Wayne Rooney. Henry described it as a “weird” move. “If I’m playing for West Brom and I see Rooney in midfield and I see Van Persie in midfield, I’m happy,” he said.
Yorke, meanwhile, was surprised United kept trying to pass their way through West Brom’s crowded defence despite having a targetman to aim at.
“When you do that you expect the system to change because you can go direct to Fellaini, but they were still trying to pass it about,” said Yorke. “You need people to run beyond Fellaini and they weren’t doing any of that.”
Yorke had commented on their lack of creativity at half-time, and despite the flurry of late chances, United continued to struggle despite Van Gaal’s alterations after the break.
“It’s all well and good dominating the possession but you have to create and I don’t think United are creating,” said Yorke. “No one is penetrating, everyone is taking the easy option. You expect these players to create a little bit more.”
United forwards flounder
While credit goes to Myhill for a string of fine saves, more questions must be asked of United’s faltering forward line. This was the first time since 2007 that they have failed to score in three successive games, a statistic that is all the more difficult for United to take given the big money options at their disposal.
“The finishing was not good enough,” was Van Gaal’s blunt assessment. Van Persie showed glimpses of sharpness with a string of half-chances in the first half on his return to the side following an ankle injury, but Rooney, Fellaini and substitutes Angel Di Maria and Radamel Falcao only mustered two shots on target between them.
Record signing Di Maria did sting Myhill's palms with one effort, but a series of misplaced passes from the Argentine drew groans from the home fans and illustrated his lack of confidence.
“When you look at the quality of players they have going forward, that is the frustrating aspect of it, that we see all these talented players not being able to score goals on a regular basis,” said Yorke.
“When they’re dominating a football match in the way they are, usually they go on to win those games but they haven’t been able to convert that.
“That must be frustrating from the manager’s point of view, the players’ point of view, and the fans points’ of view. It’s got to be heartbreaking to have another defeat on your hands when you dominate the game like they have.”
Baggies hit 40 points
While Manchester United are left sweating on a top four finish, West Brom can bask in the warm glow of the hallowed 40 points mark. If there were any lingering doubts, they are surely safe now.
Pulis’s men travel to relegation-threatened Newcastle next weekend, but they are seven points clear of the drop zone – which is all the more important given they face Chelsea and Arsenal in their final two games.
Despite their points tally, however, Fletcher insists they won’t let up until their safety is mathematically assured.
“We’re not going to relax until it’s over,” he said. “The teams at the bottom are playing fantastically, so until it’s mathematically impossible for us to go down, we’ll keep going.”
