Romelu Lukaku, Jesse Lingard's Goals See Manchester United Past West Brom 2-1

West Bromwich Albion almost completed a late comeback during Sunday's Premier League action, but Manchester United made a late stand to come away with a 2-1 win at the Hawthorns.

United proved the more clinical side in the first half, converting two of their few chances through Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard. Gareth Barry pulled a goal back in the second half from a corner kick, and Albion had their chances late on but failed to grab an equaliser.

Here's a look at the teams:

United took control of the ball early, and with Juan Mata pulling the strings, the Red Devils attacked the gaps with energy. West Brom were all over the place at the back, but fortunately for the hosts, some wastefulness from the visitors meant they weren't punished for their mistakes.

There were barely any chances to speak of in the first 25 minutes, with a header from WBA captain Jonny Evans the only time either team came close to the opposing goal.

That all changed after 27 minutes, however, when Marcus Rashford dropped a perfect cross into the box after some good work from Mata. Lukaku was there to meet it, guiding a good header past goalkeeper Ben Foster.

Per Sky Sports Statto, the former Everton man appears to be rediscovering his form:

The Baggies tried to hit back and threatened through Salomon Rondon, who gave David De Gea all kinds of trouble with a tricky deflection. Antonio Valencia was able to clear the ball in time, however.

Instead, it was United who scored again after 35 minutes, thanks to a bit of good fortune. Lingard fired a shot on goal, and while Foster was in position to make the save, the ball took a huge deflection off Ahmed Hegazi and left him with no chance.

Joe Krishnan of the London Evening Standard thought it was bad judgment from the defender:

There was time for one more good chance for the hosts before the half-time whistle, but Jake Livermore's shot was fired far too close to De Gea, who made the easy stop.

WBA came out with more energy to start the second half, and a coming together between Hegazy and Rashford that resulted in a booking for the latter got the crowd fired up.

Oliver Burke nearly found a team-mate after some lovely footwork, but Valencia got in between two forwards to divert the cross away from danger. Per Scouted Football, the Scot was making his first start of the season on Sunday:

On the other end, a quick counter between Lingard and Lukaku ended with the former firing a shot right at Foster.

Valencia went down clutching his hamstring just past the hour mark and was replaced by Marcos Rojo, a bad sign for the Red Devils ahead of the busy holiday season. Blogger Liam Canning highlighted his importance:

United did a fantastic job taking the momentum out of the contest, but with 13 minutes left to play, Barry restored some excitement. The Red Devils' set-piece defending was dreadful, and Barry blasted home a rebound to set up a tense finale.

Per WhoScored.com, it was about time the Baggies scored:

WBA made a late push for an equaliser and went close through Jay Rodriguez, who had De Gea beaten but just missed the target. The Spanish stopper was involved in a fracas after Barry appeared to stand on his ankle after a corner, and the incident only took more time off the clock.

The Red Devils barely made it out of their own half late on, although Lukaku had a chance to put the match away in injury time, firing wide.

The win sees United reduce the gap to leaders City to 11 points, with a visit to Bristol City in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals on Wednesday. The Red Devils' next Premier League outing will be on Saturday at Leicester City.