- Man United opened the scoring through Romelu Lukaku in the 27th minute
- United then doubled their lead through Jesse Lingard 10 minutes before half time
- Late goal from Gareth Barry not enough for West Brom as Red Devils close gap on Man City
- SEE MORE: Jose Mourinho gets £80m January transfer kitty, Man Utd eye £26m bid for Brazilian starlet
Man United beat West Brom 2-1 at the Hawthorns this afternoon as Jose Mourinho’s closed the almighty gap between them and their rivals Man City at the top of the table.
The away side opened the scoring through Belgian international Lukaku, who met Ashley Young’s cross before heading the ball past the hopeless Ben Foster.
United then scored a second through Jesse Lingard, as the England international smashes his shot past Foster thanks to a deflection from Ahmed Hegazi in the 35th minute.
West Brom then pulled one back late in the second half through Gareth Barry, however they couldn’t find an equaliser as the away side held on for all three points.
Following this result, Man United are now 11 points behind rivals Man City, having been 14 behind at the start of play.
Man of the Match
Man United’s danger-man Romelu Lukaku will take most of the plaudits today, as the Belgian did well against a big West Brom defence as his side won their sixth games in their last seven.
Lukaku took his goal brilliant, and the forward’s hold up play was brilliant as his did his best against two very physical defenders in Jonny Evans and Ahmed Hegazi.
This tweet sums up the 24-year-old’s goal and performance perfectly this afternoon
Classic Lukaku goal – strong and dominant against his man, powerful header. Give him service and the man delivers! #quality
— Ryan (@MillersManiac) December 17, 2017
Flop of the Match
Argentine international Claudio Yacob had a shocker today, with the player being slow on the ball and offered nothing going forward for the Baggies.
The player was even dragged off at half time for Barry by boss Alan Pardew, which sums up the player’s performance pretty well.
This fan wasn’t impressed with Yacob or his replacement Barry!
Ffs swapped yacob for Barry….. slow for slower
— Daniel Arnold (@daniel_arnie) December 17, 2017
Stat of the Match
West Brom must hate coming up against Lukaku at this point!
8 – Romelu Lukaku has had a hand in eight goals in eight @premierleague games against former club West Brom (five goals, three assists). Haunt. pic.twitter.com/x0Lm5fNE8r
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 17, 2017
Player Ratings
West Brom: Foster 6, Nyom 6 Hegazi 7, Evans 7, Gibbs 6, Livermore 6, Yacob 5, Krychowiak 5, Burke 6, Rondon 6, McClean 6 / Subs: Rodriguez 6, Barry 7, Brunt 6
Man United: De Gea 6, Valencia 6, Smalling 7, Jones 7, Young 6, Herrera 6, Matic 6, Mata 7, Lingard 7, Rashford 6, Lukaku 8 / Subs: McTominay 6, Martial 6, Rojo 5
Reaction
It was all things Lukaku after the full time whistle this afternoon
Romelu Lukaku having a poor season? Top 5 goal scorers in the league, joint with Aguero. Should also point out that he has the same amount of goals as Ozil, Sanchez & Lacazette combined.
— JM (@Mourinholic) December 17, 2017
Lukaku’s build-up play – when not isolated – has generally been very good this season. He doesn’t get enough credit for that.
— Musa Okwonga (@Okwonga) December 17, 2017
Only Mohammed Salah has been involved in more goals than Romelu Lukaku this season who has 14 goal involvements. What a flop. #MUFC
— Varun Bansal (@Varun_esque) December 17, 2017
That run from Lukaku looks like a player who’s getting his confidence back
— Totally Man Utd™ (@TotallyMUFC) December 17, 2017
WHAT A BULLET HEADER BY LUKAKU. ABSOLUTE CLASS.
— Red Devil Bible (@RedDevilBible) December 17, 2017