West Bromwich Albion secured a point away at Manchester United as the two played out a goalless draw at Old Trafford.
West Bromwich Albion’s Ben Foster and Jake Livermore celebrate after the match
Jose Mourinho has suggested that it was clear that West Brom came to Old Trafford just to take a point from their game with Manchester United, but insisted that they cannot be criticised for the tactic, the Birmingham Mail reports.
The Baggies followed their impressive win over Arsenal in their final game before the international break by playing out a goalless draw against United at Old Trafford.
As the scoreline suggests, West Brom did not show as much endeavour as during the Arsenal win. But rather than question Tony Pulis’ tactics too much, Mourinho accepted that United should have done more to break down their opponents.
“I’m not critical of it,” he said, as reported by the Mail.
“They come for that [the draw] clearly, yes. No doubts about it.
Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho
“You ask Tony he will say that.”
The statistics from the game certainly suggest that West Brom were determined to take a point back to the Hawthorns with them.
According to BBC Sport, United enjoyed three-quarters of the possession, had six times the number of attempts on goal and five more corners.
West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis
However, of United’s 18 attempts on goal, only three were on target, while West Brom put one of their three on target (via BBC Sport), so it is fair to say that the game-plan seemed to work extremely well.
And while it may not have been the most exciting game for the travelling Baggies supporters, the fact that they have taken four points from their games with Arsenal and Manchester United highlights how far they have come this season.
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