West Brom 1-2 Manchester United - 5 Talking Points

#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.