The Manchester United performance against West Bromwich Albion on Saturday showed real promise as the Red Devils managed to see through a 1-0 victory at Old Trafford, their first home league win of the season.
Manchester United Show Great Promise in West Bromwich Albion Win
United Work Hard To Get First Home League Win This Season
The Red Devils had to work hard to beat West Brom 1-0 in a tough match this weekend.
The Baggies, who are yet to pick up a Premier League win this season, set up for this fixture very defensively. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have struggled to break these sorts of teams down since he joined as manager in 2018, and although Saturday saw them create a few good chances—more than usual, there was certainly not a surplus.
Despite this, they were able to grind out the victory, largely thanks to solid defensive and goalkeeping performances. David de Gea once again showed his critics that he is still world class as he kept another clean sheet with some exemplary saves. And, the back line also played well, with Alex Telles impressing on his Premier League debut.
Performance Against The Baggies Shows Real Promise For United
The performance against the newly promoted side, while not a great watch, was exactly what United have been striving for ever since Solskjaer took charge at Old Trafford.
West Brom set up to defend, and United tend to have trouble breaking down sides like this.
One can look at many examples of this from the last two years, including the Red Devils’ 2-0 defeat to Burnley in January of this year. The Clarets are a very defensive team, and it was no different in this game, with the Manchester side controlling possession and having the majority of the opportunities to score. However, they couldn’t create much in the way of clear-cut chances, and Burnley managed to hit them twice, using long balls from set pieces to aid their attack.
Against West Brom, United were able to create much better chances for themselves. If not for a fantastic goalkeeping performance from former Red Devil Sam Johnstone, United could have won by three goals. Even with this performance, however, they were able to grab a win. Luck went their way with a penalty decision against them overturned, and then a penalty awarded at the other end of the pitch within minutes, but sometimes you need luck to get across the line in matches like this.
During Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign at the Theatre of Dreams, ugly victories played a vital role in his success, and it shows great promise that United are starting to win these games again.
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