David De Gea: 6
Had almost nothing to do other than hold one shot by Brunt and clear a few balls. Was protected well by his defense throughout.
Chris Smalling: 6.5
Had many nervy moments with Odemwingie all over him. Made a few basic mistakes when he could have played an obvious pass. Got forward well. Should do a little better with his touch.
Nemanja Vidic: 7.5
Dealt well with Rosenberg and managed to stifle the end attack by West Brom. Made several second half blocks and interceptions. Spectacular return to the first team. Kept Shane Long quiet. Almost looks ready to start as usual.
Jonny Evans: 7.5
Gave away many set pieces when West Brom were in the ascendancy. Put his body on the line at almost every attack that came at him. Did excellent work in the second half to protect the fort and keep a clean sheet.
Patrice Evra: 7
Sped past Young on several occasions, providing an option and did well to return to his defensive duties. Improving with every game.
Antonio Valencia: 6.5
Slowly regaining his form after a terrible run. His final ball was lacking. Used his pace to outrun Ridgewell many times.
Michael Carrick: 8
Kept hold of possession and ran the game, showing his incredible run of form. Bossed the midfield completely, making several crucial tackles and moved forward whenever possible. Really shutting up his cynics now! United’s best player.
Tom Cleverley: 7.5
Ran all over the pitch and linked everything up, be it in the defense or in the attack. His movement and pace let Carrick sit deep and control the play. Covered a lot of ground and was replaced by Paul Scholes with 10 minutes to go.
Ashley Young: 7.5
Did excellent work on the wing to drill in a powerful cross which McAauley could do nothing about but put it into his own net. Showed immense work rate both in attack and defense. Crossed the ball dangerously on more than one occasion.
Returns after two months due to injury. Combined well with a delightful chipped pass to Young which led to the first goal. Made some clever flicks as well. Picked the right pass always and was cool and composed on the ball. Drifted off a bit in the second half. Replaced by Van Persie at 65 minutes.
Danny Welbeck: 7
Starts the match after recovering from an illness. Although he was played in his preferred striker’s role, he constantly dropped deep and showed that incredible knack of nicking the ball away from the opposition. Held play well also.
SUBSTITUTIONS
Robin Van Persie: 7.5
Did very well to try and push for a second. Contributed defensively as well. In 25 minutes, he managed to force a save out of Foster, set up Welbeck and curled home an outstanding shot. Sir Alex really pulled a coup signing the Dutchman.
Paul Scholes: N/ACame on with 10 minutes to go to calm the proceedings down.
Ben Foster: 7
Made some brilliant saves to deny Young, Carrick, Van Persie and Welbeck. Could do nothing about McAuley’s own goal. Kept West Brom in the game till the end.
Billy Jones: 6
Was entrusted with controlling Ashley Young and coped fairly well. Made some very vital saves at the end.
Gareth McAuley: 6.5
Turned the ball into his own net after failing to deal with Young’s cross. That was probably the only mistake of his game as he defended set pieces and cleared the ball well.
Gabriel Tamas: 6
Missed a header from a quite brilliant ball by Brunt. Stood strong against the United attack but was caught in possession by Welbeck on an occasion.
Liam Ridgewell: 5
Allowed Valencia too much room to operate and was often caught out of position frequently. Didn’t contribute offensively or defensively.
George Thorne: 6.5
Came back sharply to control Cleverley in the second half. Kept West Brom on the front foot in the beginning of the second half.
Chris Brunt: 6.5
West Brom’s star player. Moved the ball ever so well and covered defensively. Could have done better from set pieces. Came off for Morrison with 16 minutes to go.
Markus Rosenberg: 5
The player never seemed fully in the game and was easily shrugged aside by a confident Carrick and Cleveley combination. Replaced by Lukaku after 65 minutes.
Graham Dorrans: 6
Usually plays centrally but was forced to play wide. Didn’t go forward much but did help Jones in managing Young.
Peter Odemwingie: 5.5
Tormented Smalling on many occasions but just could not find a perfect finish or final ball. Faded away towards the end when his team really needed him.
Shane Long: 7
Chased the ball as Cleverley and Carrick ran the midfield. Used his pace effectively to get on the blind side of Vidic on a few occasions but was starved of service.
SUBSTITUTES
James Morrison: 5
Came on for Brunt with 15 minutes on the clock and really didn’t affect the game much.
Romelu Lukaku: 6.5
Showed immense speed and strength and brushed aside Evans as West Brom looked more of an attacking unit with him on.
Marc-Antoine Fortune: N/A
Came on for Rosenberg in the 83rd minute.