Manchester United 1-0 West Brom: Five things we learned

Bruno Fernandes’ penalty sealed all three points for Manchester United against West Brom as the spotlight shines on VAR once again.

The Red Devils beat West Brom for the first time at home since 2015 amid the controversial use of the video assistant referee for two respective penalties.

After the Baggies’ Conor Gallagher went down inside the Manchester United box, referee David Coote pointed to the spot before taking another look at the decision only for it to be overturned.

Less than ten minutes later, Juan Mata’s cross was handled inside the West Brom area by full-back Grady Diangana leaving Coote no option but to award the home side a spot-kick.

Albion’s keeper Sam Johnstone, formerly of Manchester United, saved the effort from Fernandes but VAR stole the show as Johnstone had come off his line too quickly. In normal fashion, the Portuguese converted the re-take and United saw the game out to earn a vital three points, lifting them out of the bottom half.

1: David de Gea, back to his best?

The Spaniard impressed once again on Saturday night as he has done all season long. A very important spell of form, as it looked earlier in the year that his time at Manchester United may be up.

A match-winning performance from the shot-stopper, making two fantastic saves at 0-0 to keep the Baggies at bay from Matheus Pereira and Conor Townsend.

As pressure increases on de Gea, thanks to United’s backup goalie Dean Henderson, performances like this will have to become more regular in his bid to cement his place as the number one at Old Trafford.

2: Sam Johnstone, superstar

We can now add Sam Johnstone to the list of English goalkeepers who have had game-of-their-life performances at Old Trafford alongside Nick Pope, Tom Heaton and Karl Darlow.

The Albion number one made an impressive six saves throughout the 90 minutes, including four from inside the box.

Anthony Martial was denied by the Englishman from point-blank range in the 15th minute, leaving United fans with their hands on their heads wondering how it didn’t ripple into the back of the net. The United academy graduate enjoyed an inspiring showing on his return to the Theatre of Dreams, but couldn’t manage to keep Bruno Fernandes out for a second time.

Missed the first time✖️

Scored the second time! ?

Bruno Fernandes makes no mistake with his second penalty after Sam Johnstone was ruled to be off the line from the first attempt… pic.twitter.com/mway3HwJpe

— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 21, 2020

3: Alex Telles shines on league debut

The £15m Brazilian didn’t put a foot wrong in United’s hard-fought win, keeping it simple and offering overlapping support to Marcus Rashford on the left flank.

There’s not much more you can ask from a defender than three points and a clean sheet, exactly what Telles contributed highly to in last night’s fixture.

His defensive awareness, decision making and weight of passes were immaculate – a breath of fresh air from Luke Shaw’s many attacking limits.

United will be counting their lucky stars that the full-back was even available for the game after a COVID-19 scare on international duty kept some of the Brazil squad out of action. As shown in the tweet from @StatmanDave below, Telles had a flawless outing.

Alex Telles’ Premier League debut by numbers:

100% aerials won
100% tackles won
84% pass accuracy
25 final third passes
11 ball recoveries
3 passes into the box
2 interceptions
2 fouls won
2 shots

Good to see him finally get his league debut. ?? pic.twitter.com/xB2mSqZJEw

— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) November 21, 2020

4: Bizarre Ole quotes dominate post-game headlines

Some interesting quotes from manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had United fans scratching their heads after the full-time whistle.

The Norwegian claimed the win was “never comfortable against players of this quality”, a strange point of view as the one thing West Brom lacked all game was most definitely quality.

Sitting in the relegation places in 18th, the win should’ve been a routine outing for the home side. The Baggies have scored just six goals all season whilst conceding 18 and have only managed a miserable three points.

Slaven Bilić is yet to record his first win as West Brom manager this campaign but will look to secure his first victory as he faces suffering Sheffield United in their next fixture.

Solskjær: "It's nice after the international break that you get a win. We needed that win at home. We looked unsettled towards the end even though we should score one or two more to have a more relaxed finish. It's never comfortable against players of this quality." #mulive [bbc]

— utdreport (@utdreport) November 21, 2020

5: Brilliant Bruno

The Portuguese magnifico tallied his sixth goal of the Premier League season as he converted from the spot (second time lucky).

He also managed an impressive six key passes, making it the highest total in one match across Europe’s top five leagues so far this season.

Undoubtedly being one of the best midfielders in the Premier League, these performances have come naturally to Fernandes.

The ‘modern-day Cantona’, as he has been labelled by fans has proven to be the most influential player at Manchester United post, Sir Alex Ferguson. It’s easy to tell a single player is special when he has as many goals and assists (nine) combined as the entire Arsenal squad have had goals all season.

Ole’s tricky reds are on the road next Sunday to face high-flying Southampton following their home game in the Champions League in midweek vs Başakşehir F.K. West Brom will now turn their attention to next Saturday’s 8pm kickoff against Sheffield United after their harsh defeat at Old Trafford.