How do you sum up a game like that? I don’t even know where to begin. It’s like the stuffing has been knocked out of me. Not just for me, but for everyone else who is also proud to call themselves a Manchester United fan.
In a game that should have been routine, we slipped up, and handed the Premier League title to Manchester City. Unless you’re a Manchester United fan reading this, you have no idea how difficult it is to call Manchester City champions.
Don’t get me wrong, i don’t think we played very badly. We created some nice attacks. But West Brom just wanted it more. You could tell how much Premier League survival means to them.
West Brom frustrated Manchester United from the first whistle. They created the better chances, and they looked the more fluid team on the pitch. Every single West Brom player put a shift in. Everything Manchester United did, West Brom had an answer for it. They had our number.
The first bit of notable action from the game, occurred in the thirteenth minute, when Jake Livermore hit a low shot. But De Gea, showing his class, made a good save to deny the visitors getting an early lead.
Manchester United were very unlucky not to take the lead in the eighteenth minute, when Craig Dawson brought down Ander Herrera in the penalty area. But referee Paul Tierney decided that it wasn’t a penalty.
Ben Foster was in the mix two minutes later, when he made a double save. First from Lukaku, and then from Sanchez on the rebound. On the forty – second minute, West Brom once again threatened the Manchester United goal, as Craig Dawson headed Chris Bunt’s corner across the face of goal.
Lingard nearly scored after coming on at half time for Ander Herrera. But his volley from about fourteen yards, was blocked by Craig Dawson. Manchester United nearly took the lead in the sixty-seventh minute, with Lukaku’s diving header across goal. But Foster was there with a fingertip save.
Lingard had a shot moments later, but it went wide of the goal. Rodriguez won a corner on the seventy – third minute, and took advantage of an accidental knockdown by Matic, to head in the winner, and only goal of the game.
In closing, West Brom showed how good they can play when they want to. They set up well, and followed their game plan perfectly. They were solid defensively, and were dangerous on the attack. As much as it pains me to say, West Brom deserved to win. Simply put: they wanted the win more than Manchester United.
