After Liam Ridgewell had done well to reach the byline down the United left, the defender cut the ball back to the unmarked Keith Andrews who somehow contrived to prod wide from six yards out.
United responded well to the early warning from the visitors, with both Welbeck and Ashley Young coming close before Andrews stung the palms of the ever-improving de Gea from a free-kick.
The champions enjoyed nearly 70 per-cent possession in the opening half hour and it wasn’t long before their dominance was transformed into a half-time lead.
Following good work from Young, Javier Hernandez found himself with time on the edge of the Albion area. The Mexican cut back onto his left and curled an effort towards goal, and with the West Brom defenders stood statuesque, Rooney produced a superb piece of opportunism to sneak ahead of Ben Foster and prod hid side into the lead.The champions started the second half in much the same vein and were a width of the post away from doubling their lead.
Some good interplay between Hernandez and the impressive Rooney resulted in the Mexican producing a stunning effort on the edge of the area, but the United man’s luck was out as it fired back off the woodwork with Foster beaten all ends up.
