Manchester United 2-0 West Bromwich Albion: Player Ratings
The visit of West Bromwich Albion to Old Trafford saw a thoroughly professional performance from Manchester United.
In a game that saw the return from injury of Shinji Kagawa, Sir Alex Ferguson's men were in total control for the vast majority of the game and they finally managed to keep a clean sheet.
The result never looked in doubt, particularly after nine minutes when Ashley Young's cross-come-shot deflected off West Brom's Gareth McAuley for an own-goal.
Apart from a short spell in the second half, the rest was plain sailing for the Red Devils. Robin van Persie confirmed the points for the Old Trafford outfit on 90 minutes with a superb 21-yard curling strike.
Keep reading for a look at some key Man Utd players.
David De Gea: 6
1 of 12De Gea looked composed and at ease as United’s No.1.
His distribution was good, but other than that he was protected excellently by his defence—he literally had only one shot on target to save, which happened to come right at him.
He enjoyed his first clean sheet in 12 games.
Chris Smalling: 6
2 of 12Another starting berth at right-back for Smalling.
On the whole, he played well, but was turned by Peter Odemwingie a couple of times.
Smalling worked well with Valencia down the right flank, but his natural position is obviously centre-back.
West Brom had a spell of pressure in the second half and looked to push on Smalling who they may have identified as the most vulnerable player.
Nemanja Vidic: 8
3 of 12Vidic delivered a no-nonsense performance—it was a solid day for the Manchester United captain.
Looking back to fitness, he was strong in the tackle and on his way to being his intimidating self.
He gave United some authority in the air but also looked dangerous when attacking corners.
Welcome back Nemanja!
Jonny Evans: 8
4 of 12This was another solid performance from the Northern Irish international.
He wasn’t noticed until the 45th minute when he gave away an unnecessary free kick which saw United suffer its only nervy moment of the first half.
This was his only mistake. Other than this, Evans made some important stops in the second half.
Patrice Evra: 8
5 of 12Patrice Evra again brought a typically high energy, athletic showing.
He supported attacks well and interchanged with Ashley Young effectively.
The holes behind him were protected well and a great pass to Robin van Persie on 82 minutes produced a good save from Ben Foster.
Michael Carrick: 7
6 of 12Michael Carrick protected the defence well with a couple of key interceptions.
He put some incisive passing on display, but generally swept up any untidyness from his teammates and linked the play well.
His methodical style of play is allowed to flourish with the high energy assistance of Tom Cleverley alongside him.
Tom Cleverley: 8
7 of 12Tom Cleverley is improving with every game and today was no different.
A high energy, committed performance helped United take control of the centre of the park and there was some moments of class too—the highlight being a 40 yard Scholes-like pass which nearly connected with Welbeck’s toe.
Growing in stature.
Antonio Valencia: 7
8 of 12A decent outing for Manchester United’s No.7.
Valencia was industrious and covered well defensively when out of possession.
However, he is still struggling to reproduce the excellent form of last season. One or two square balls caused West Brom some concern, but overall he was disappointing.
His legs began to tire in the final stages of the match and picked up a booking too.
Ashley Young: 7
9 of 12This was a mixed afternoon for Ashley Young.
He walked away with the assist for United's first—a Gareth McAuley own goal on nine minutes, but he also squandered a couple of chances to double United’s lead.
One was well saved and pushed onto the bar by Ben Foster, but another on 61 minutes was an embarrassing air shot from Antonio Valencia’s squared ball.
He's not quite firing on all cylinders.
Shinji Kagawa: 7.5
10 of 12The return from injury of Japanese dynamo Shinji Kagawa was a positive one.
The first half saw a neat and tidy performance full of intelligent movement and clever, stealthy runs. He found space well and chipped in a deft pass to Ashley Young in the move that led to the own goal.
Sir Alex Ferguson replaced him with Robin van Persie on 66 minutes when he understandably started to drift from the game.
Danny Welbeck: 7
11 of 12Other than a well-saved shot on 89 minutes, Danny Welbeck didn’t cause the West Brom defence any concern.
That said, his work-rate was impressive and he defended from the front very well, dispossessing West Brom’s centre backs on two or three occasions.
His mazy run in added time, wherein he passed three or four opponents with ease, unfortunately led to nothing.
Subs: Robin Van Persie: 8, Paul Scholes: Unrated
12 of 12As soon as van Persie was introduced for Kagawa on 66 minutes he brought wonderful dexterity to the play. He stood out immediately.
As all great goalscorers he was hungry for a goal too, latching onto Evra’s through ball on 82 minutes only to see his shot saved by Ben Foster.
He wouldn’t give up though, and on 90 minutes the Premier League’s top scorer added to his tally with a fantastic 21 yard curling strike into the top left hand corner of the net to confirm the three points for Manchester United.
Paul Scholes replaced a tiring Tom Cleverley at 83 minutes. He didn’t do enough to be rated, but was close to a goal towards the end with a typically blasted shot that was swallowed up by a crowd of West Brom defenders.
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