Manchester United 2-0 West Brom -part 1-

A fairly one-sided affair was dominated by the champions, who were wasteful for much of the game.

A moment of pure opportunism and a coolly taken penalty from Wayne Rooney secured all three points for Alex Ferguson’s side, as the visitors were thwarted by David de Gea on the few occasions they managed to break out of their own half.


Sir Alex Ferguson made four changes to the side that was humbled at home to Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Having hobbled off against the Spanish outfit, Chris Smalling was replaced by Rio Ferdinand.


Meanwhile, Michael Carrick, Paul Scholes and Danny Welbeck were all restored to the starting line-up, with Rafael da Silva, Ryan Giggs and Ji-Sung Park dropping to the bench.

For the visitors there were two changes to the side victorious over Chelsea at the weekend, with Gabriel Tamas and Chris Brunt starting in place of Jerome Thomas and the injured Steven Reid.


Despite an early spell of dominance from the home side, it was Roy Hodgon’s men who created the first clear-cut opportunity.