Manchester City have been crowned the Champions of England in the most uneventful and unexpected manner possible after last weekend’s 2-3 loss to Manchester United. The Red Devils lost against West Brom tonight by 1 goals to nil at Old Trafford in inexcusable fashion.
They were simply far too complacent against the bottom-most club in the Premier League and were punished in deserved fashion.
The Baggies took up a defensive approach and attacked only on the counter and by supplying balls from the flanks. Jay Rodriguez cleared a path through the midfield and set up Rondon on the edge of the box, who in turn passed it off to the on-rushing Jake Livermore. The midfielder cut inside but could not get the ball out of his foot to really challenge David De Gea.
Manchester United could not formulate any clear chances other than the occasional lobbed ball towards Romelu Lukaku.
And in the 73rd minute, Albion broke the deadlock through on of their corner kicks. Craig Dawson towered over Antonio Valencia and squared the ball in with his head. Rodriguez’s gamble off charging towards the six-yard box paid off as he connected the ball with his head perfectly and uncontested. 0-1
Jose Mourinho’s team threw the kitchen sink at the visitors but could not manage an equaliser. Allan Nyom did just enough to stop Chris Smalling’s far post header in the dying minutes.
The contest ended with the Baggies holding onto hopes of a relegation survival and showing their fans that they care enough.
Here is how the Manchester United players were rated on the night.
David De Gea – 6/10
Put a strong hand to one of Livermore’s mildly struck shots but could not react fast enough for the opposition goal.
Antonio Valencia – 6/10
Did well against McClean but not assertive enough on the offensive end.
Chris Smalling – 6/10
Did well to hold off Salomon Rondon and was the end of a late chance for his team.
Victor Lindelof – 6/10
Cannot be faulted much at the back other than mistiming a couple of challenges.
Ashley Young – 6/10
He delivered a few quality balls into the opposition box.
Nemanja Matic – 5/10
Very slow to track back when his team got hit by the counter and lost possession on a couple of occasions. Not the worst performance but certainly not his best either.
Ander Herrera – 7/10
The better out of the two holding midfielders. He was clever with the ball and even earned a penalty shout only to be denied by the referee.
Paul Pogba – 6/10
Brilliant footwork to skip past the opposition players but eventually no end product. He did look lively in the first half which makes his second-half substitution even more confusing.
Juan Mata – 5/10
The Spaniard could not click with his teammates on the night. He lost the ball in tight spaces and could not complete the quick touches to create anything substantial.
Alexis Sanchez – 5/10
Another woeful night for the Chilean. He was involved a lot with the ball and did look optimistic with his hopeful balls towards the opposition box but not enough to break open the Albion defence.
Romelu Lukaku – 5/10
The Baggies defence won the physical battle over the massive Belgian. He ran the channels but was left frustrated with the lack of quality balls from his teammates.
Substitutes:
Jesse Lingard – 6/10
Came on to make an immediate impact but both of his shots were either blocked or deflected by the opposition defence.
Anthony Martial – 5/10
Challenged Nyom with his quick footwork.
Marcus Rashford – NA
