Jose cancels the celebrations
IN A week that was all about celebrations, Romelu Lukaku and Jose Mourinho were in no mood to let their hair down as Manchester United saw off West Brom amid an air of tension.
A week after Mourinho took exception to Manchester City’s post-match jubilation and a day after City’s players were filmed taunting United in celebratory mode, Lukaku and his manager kept a lid on things.
The former Albion striker refused to celebrate his opening goal at the Hawthorns, perhaps out of respect for the club that launched his Premier League career or perhaps through a niggling sense of injustice at the criticism he has received.
Either way, his subdued reaction was mirrored by his manager, even after Jesse Lingard had doubled United’s lead and the visitors had held on for victory despite Gareth Barry’s second-half goal for the Baggies.
“I think two reasons,” said Mourinho of Lukaku’s stony face. “One is his love for West Bromwich Albion. He was a happy kid here. They helped him to feel loved, they made him feel at home
“It was here he exploded in the Premier League. So for sure there was that.
“And probably the second thing is he looked at me and I didn’t celebrate too, so he says ‘if he doesn’t celebrate why should I celebrate?’”
Why did Mourinho not go wild at the opening goal in a game his side had to win?
“Because you get more experienced, you get more balanced,” he said. “You don’t go crazy when you win. You don’t get depressed when you lose. You are much more stable with experience.
“Some other managers, they are different, and they don’t change. I change. If I score a goal in the last minute you will see me run, for sure, for sure.
“But a goal in minute twentysomething, 1-0 with a lot to play….let’s play.” As the game panned out, Mourinho’s conservative approach looked well-judged as his side turned what looked destined to be a comfortable win into a hard-fought, tense three points.
United were dominant early on, lost their impetus as Albion enjoyed a decent spell, only to find themselves ahead after 27 minutes. Oliver Burke was guilty of losing the ball cheaply on the West Brom right and United worked it to Marcus Rashford, who was given time and space to cross. It found Lukaku who glanced a simple header past Ben Foster. Eight minutes later it was 2-0 as Lingard struck with the aid of a deflection.
Lukaku and Juan Mata combined to tee up the midfielder on the edge of the area and his shot struck a lazy leg of Ahmed Hegazi and flew past a stranded Foster. Rashford was booked early in the second half for a confrontation with Hegazi in which the United man did not cover himself in glory.
First he went down holding his face following an arm across his upper chest from Hegazi and then he leapt to his feet and confronted the Egyptian.
Albion pulled a goal back with 13 minutes to go, however, thanks to a Chris Brunt corner that United failed to clear at the far post.
A scramble ensued and Barry managed to poke the ball home for his first West Brom goal and the first of Alan Pardew’s tenure in his fourth match in charge. It might have got worse
I don’t go crazy when I win now
for United moments later when Brunt’s cross found fellow substitute Jay Rodriguez but he headed wide of the near post to confirm the visitors’ victory.
“We were disappointing in the first half and I think I picked the wrong team,” said Pardew, whose side will enter the Christmas period in the bottom three.
“I didn’t think we had that energy in the first half that we need against Manchester United. It was too comfortable for them.
“In the second half, we had some experience in Gareth Barry. I thought he made a big difference when he came on. And then Chris Brunt came on and suddenly we looked threatening. It was a lesson for the other players in having confidence in what you’re doing.”