Myhill the hero as West Brom bag memorable win at Man Utd

West Bromwich Albion can take a deep breath after beating Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford, as a hard-fought victory saw the Midlands men move seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Tony Pulis’ team set their stall out from the off, with Joleon Lescott deployed as makeshift leftback to frustrate United’s forwards, and Claudio Yacob patrolling the space between midfield and defence with aplomb.

“You shalt not pass!” should have been Albion’s rallying call as the Baggies’ backline stood resolute against a bombardment of Man Utd attacks to condemn the Red Devils to a third successive defeat.

Old Trafford favourite Darren Fletcher will certainly have enjoyed his return to the Theatre of Dreams, and crucially won the free kick that could have serious implications for United’s Champions League hopes, as Liverpool closed the gap to just four points after sinking QPR.

It was fellow Man Utd academy graduate Paddy McNair who brought down Fletcher outside the box, allowing hard-working wingman Chris Brunt to bag the only goal of the game.

Brunt’s stinging set piece caught a deflection off Swedish centre half Jonas Olsson, who may yet be awarded the goal, to wrong-foot a helpless David de Gea in the 62nd minute.

Before the Baggies’ suckerpunch hosts United dominated possession, but despite much toiling it was an ultimately toothless display from the red half of Manchester.

Returning from injury, a slightly rusty but eager Robin van Persie summed up his side’s frustrations by rippling the net early on, yet failing to find a breakthrough.

The Dutchman did look dangerous, however, as a superb volley on the turn was smothered by stand-in stopper Boaz Myhill, who continued to be a bane in the striker’s side throughout.

All possession and no end product, it was a familiar story as the Red Devils played into Pulis’ hands by cluttering up the centre of midfield.