Five things: Manchester United vs West Brom

With the international break ahead, Manchester United maintained their solid defensive record with a 2-0 win against West Brom.

Described as another dull performance from the Reds, it cannot be ignored that they got the job done and are still in with a shout of being title contenders this year.

Here are SillySeason’s Five Things Learnt from the match at Old Trafford.

5) Lingard deserves starting spot

United’s academy graduate scored the goal which would break the deadlock in the second half, showing why he is being chosen ahead of the likes of Memphis Depay.

After being a surprise selection in recent weeks by manager Louis Van Gaal, supporters can see why the winger is being deployed on either flank. Hitting the crossbar against rivals Manchester City and the post against CSKA Moscow, it certainly appears that he is offering the attacking threat that Depay is currently lacking.

And after scoring from 20 yards against West Brom, it doesn’t look like the player will be leaving the starting eleven any time soon.

Red Devils defence better than first thought

With 7 clean sheets in a row, David De Gea’s defence is currently the best in the league. Of course the Spaniard has a huge part of that record, but it is hard to look past Chris Smalling, player of the month for the Reds for October, as one of the defenders of the season so far.

After losing Luke Shaw to injury, it was hard to see who could imitate his form during the opening weeks of the season. But with the return of Marcos Rojo, it looks like there will be no problems in the months to come after a string of stellar performances at the back, whilst also chipping in with a few assists too.

West Brom will rue missed chance

Substituting on Saido Berahino in the second half, Baggies manager Tony Pulis would have viewed the striker as one of the few players to pull the game back level.

But after a shocking miss, Pulis will now be left disappointed with Berahino missing their only clear cut chance with 15 minutes remaining with the player blasting the ball over the net from six yards.

Rooney still not performing

Along with Schweinsteiger, the England centre-forward recieved the lowest overall rating in the United side yesterday with a 5 out of 10 being given.

Failing to hold up the ball, misplacing passes and a poor shot accuracy are just some of the aspects of his game that have been missing during the Premier League campaign this year.

With the fans shouting ‘attack attack attack’ throughout the game, it was evident that they were always going to lack more goals with Rooney still on the field. This was shown when the player was brought off, with United winning a penalty late on where they broke away in great fashion, something which may not have been possible if Rooney was still on.

Evans impresses on return

Former centre-back of United, the defender was unfortunate to end up on the losing side after displaying a very good performance.

The best player on the pitch for West Brom on Saturday, the player put his body on the line numerous times to deny United in the first half, and continued to be a strong presence at the back in the second despite the result going against his sides favour.

So there are our Five Things.

What are yours?