West Brom 1-2 Manchester United - 5 Talking Points

Scorers: Romelu Lukaku 27' Jesse Lingard 35' Gareth Barry 77'

Scoreline: West Bromwich Albion 1 - 2 Manchester United

In what was one of those wins that have become characteristic of Mourinho's United in recent times, comfortable existence was compromised in complacency but fortunately for them, the 3 points on offer were not.

The Baggies lugged their stultifying selves to the Hawthorns and handed the game to the Red Devils in the first half before a late reinstatement of hunger and faith saw them force United to be on their toes.

The Belgian hitman opened the scoring for Manchester United in the 27th minute with what was almost an action replay of the goal from the midweek game against Bournemouth. Jesse Lingard's shot deflected off Hegazi and bamboozled Ben Foster and hit the net to give United room to breathe.

As it turned out, United let the Baggies swarm them in the second half and offered yet another goal from a corner kick, this time to Barry, thanks to some more scrappy work in a crowded space.

But United held on for all 3 points and can heave a sigh of relief and wait for Pogba to return to the dressing room to spruce things up once again.

Here are the 5 talking points from the game:

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#5 Stone faced Lukaku is good news for Manchester United

Lukaku decided not to celebrate his goal for the second game in a row

Contrary to the arguments offered on air about the absolute lack of celebration after opening the scoring, it is perhaps the guilt that leaves Lukaku stone-faced. After assisting 2 of Manchester City's goals last weekend and helping in mounting evidence himself in the context of "bigger games", it is understandable that Lukaku's head is no place for peace and quiet.

Just like he did after scoring against Bournemouth, Lukaku stayed where was, stared at the crowd and nodded away in silence. Regardless of whether or not it's dejection showing after having been handed a basinful of ridicule or the nonchalance of unsatiated hunger, this is more or less what United will want to see from Lukaku.

Once again, his workrate was impressive and while the striker is nowhere near being the finished product, the fact that he chips in with important goals in, albeit, less important games, will not go unnoticed by the Old Trafford faithful at least.

Lukaku has been involved in 14 goals so far this term. Only Mohamed Salah (16) has registered his involvement more times. Barring the game against City, Lukaku has been quite cogent and needs to shut down the noise and earn his way to a celebration. It's good that he feels the need too and he will only be more adored if he does.

#4 Alan Pardew finally get his men to score for him but that's about it

Difficult times

As a team flirting with rock bottom and fighting a battle nobody wants to be fighting, you could excuse Pardew for prioritizing substance over style. Almost all of their attacks came down the left flank and Rondon was continually let down by the quality of service.

McLean and Gibbs whose prerogative was to motor down the left flank had 2 things to do- firstly, push Valencia on the backfoot and provide good service into the area. While they were moderately successful in doing the former, the Ecuadorian's tenacity proved too difficult to bridle.

Rondon put in a shift going forward but there wasn't much to work with as far as he was concerned. But as United sat back and opened the door for nerves, West Brom started committing more bodies forward and nearly reaped the reward for their industry.

#3 United could do without these nervy finishes

Gareth Barry pulled one back for the Baggies

Once Jesse Lingard got his goal, the game seemed to have been set and done. United became more authoritative on the ball and were showing more intent going forward, breaching the West Brom defence more than just a couple of times.

However, this spell of play right before halftime perhaps lulled them into a false sense of security which saw them throwing opportunities away like candy wrappers. In order to preserve the lead and to keep the clean sheet, Manchester United stopped committing bodies forward and it was often just Lingard, Rashford and Lukaku trying to create something among the 3 of them.

Once again, their defensive organisation from open play remained intact. However, some clueless defending from a set-piece poked an unnecessary hole in an otherwise sturdy vessel. It is almost ridiculous that United, a team with so many towering figures, are buying into this trend of being vulnerable away from open play.

But whatever tomfoolery gets pulled during set-piece training needs to be sacrificed with immediate effect or the scrappy goals will continue to do injustice to that Spaniard who guards the sticks.

Antonio Valencia pulled his hamstring and United will hope that he picked it early as the number of casualties keeps increasing.

#2 West Brom need to show more of what they did in the last 30 minutes

West Brom waited too long before finally engaging United's backline

West Ham ended the match with more shots than Manchester United. While that is not an accurate representation of the route that the game took, West Brom did walk out of the tunnel blinking before getting jostled back inside at the full-time whistle.

But for the last half an hour, Pardew's men did not look like a team that is languishing at the 19th place on the Premier League table. Rodriguez even came close to equalizing in the 85th minute after he headed just wide off the mark from a Gibbs cross.

They have now gone for 17 games without winning and need to show that fight for all of 90 minutes in the upcoming fixtures if they're to sail out of forlorn shores. Burke, Livermore, Rondon and Brunt are all players capable of turning games around but the lack of a cohesive element, makes them look rather ordinary on the pitch.

While they were not willing to back down from a fight, quite literally, as the game dragged on, one is left wanting to see them channel that same vigour into something that will ultimately disturb the opposition's netting.

As it stands, however, the fellow diseased are all out of the clinics and breathing much better. And it is high time the Baggies got their act together.

#1 Attractive Manchester United coming up in 3, 2, 1...

Just look at those faces

United hearts were crushed as Pogba saw red against Arsenal at the Emirates, a couple of weeks back. This was despite them holding on to a 2-goal advantage at the time. Without Paul Pogba, Manchester United is just another top 6 team.

A team that is effective in putting away the weak and the wounded but one that has far too many inhibitions when it comes to keeping up with the picks of the bunch. The lack of sharpness and incisiveness on the counter without the Pogba link in midfield is disheartening to witness.

Jesse Lingard has vowed to make that no.10 spot his and is putting on impressive displays. But Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic are anchors and have pedestrian fishing skills when on the hunt. Paul Pogba's dynamic game which is adequately enriched by physicality, strength, intelligence and astounding control and vision often elevates United into a free-scoring side.

With the Frenchman in the centre, almost everyone deploys a better version of themselves. For one, Romelu Lukaku won't be so starved of service in his presence. Now that Paul Pogba has served his 3-match ban after sitting out against City, Bournemouth and West Brom, Manchester United can go back to looking like the only team that has anything close to a say on City running away with the title.

And trust me, that is quite something.