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MANCHESTER, England: A penalty taken twice by Bruno Fernandes gave the unimpressive Manchester United a 1-0 win over West Bromwich Albion on Saturday, their first home win of the Premier League season.
Fernandes’ first effort was stopped by West Brom goalkeeper Sam Johnstone, but referee David Coote ordered the shot to resume after the goalkeeper had drifted off his line. The Portuguese midfielder was not wrong on the second attempt.
Winless West Brom’s frustration was doubled by the fact that the penalty, awarded by a Darnell Furlong hand, came eight minutes after a penalty after review was disallowed.
Coote pointed out the spot after he ruled that Fernandes made shin contact with Conor Gallagher in the area, but the referee reversed his decision after being sent to the court monitor.
“Instead of being one up, we are 1-0 down and it is difficult to come back. We showed later that we did not stop believing or playing. I am very disappointed with the result and the referee’s decisions.” “said West Brom manager Slaven Bilic.
Substitute Callum Robinson came close to equalizing West Brom in the 65th minute with a superb shot that hit the crossbar.
United, who had struggled to topple Slaven Bilic’s side to their goal, had opportunities to extend their lead, but prominent Johnstone, a product of the United academy, made a series of good saves.
The victory put United ahead of local rivals Manchester City in ninth place with 13 points, seven behind leader Tottenham Hotspur. West Brom stayed in the third bottom with three points.
While performance may have been poor, United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was pleased to get through a tough game and take the points.
“It’s good after the international break that you get a win. We needed that win at home. We seemed restless towards the end, although we should score one or two more for a more relaxed finish,” he said.
“Tight margins decide the matches, but the mood is decided by the results. It is up to us to build momentum, we have a chance to continue the good start in the Champions League and Southampton is a very difficult match too. Hopefully, we did it”. some further back (due to injury) and can kick. “
(Reporting by Simon Evans, edited by Ed Osmond)
