Manchester United 1 - West Brom 2: Champs decked without a fight

THE words of boxing legend Evander Holyfield rang true around Old Trafford: "I truly believe that if a person doesn't quit, they will eventually reach their destination."

Robin Van Persie looks on in anguish [GETTY]

As David Moyes reflects on Manchester United's worst start to a league season since 1989, those words may be all thast he has to cling to for comfort.

Former world heavyweight champion Holyfield, in Manchester on a UK tour to promote his charity work, was renowned for taking on and beating the best. So were United, once. But not right now.


Sir Alex Ferguson's replacement has compared the rebuilding job he must undertake at United to the one he faced at Everton a decade ago. He was eventually successful at Goodison Park, where top-six finishes on minimal budgets are to be celebrated. The stakes at United, though, are much higher.

"It was a poor result, a poor performance," Moyes admitted. "We never really got going. We had a lot of the ball in the first half but never really made enough chances from it. And when we did make some, we didn't finish them."

West Brom deserved their first league victory at Old Trafford since a breathless 5-3 win in December 1978. Their matchwinner of 2013 was Saido Berahino, an England Under-21 international who has been prolific in the Capital One Cup for this season.

Given a chance as a substitute after an early injury to Scott Sinclair, Berahino grabbed it to score his first Premier League goal, drilling in from 20 yards after a lay-off from the excellent Morgan Amalfitano.

Frenchman Amalfitano, brought in on loan from Marseille, is already starting to look one of the Premier League's top signings of the summer.

The winger, a scorer in the 3-0 demolition of Sunderland seven days earlier, gave Albion a 54th-minute lead at Old Trafford with a 60-yard dash past the ageing Rio Ferdinand, which he finished with a confident chipped finish over David De Gea.

"We were tremendous from start to finish," said West Brom boss Steve Clarke. "We did almost everything perfectly. And I think when you come to the home of the champions, you have to play almost the perfect game. We did that."

"We sack who we want," chanted the Albion fans, mocking Moyes' discomfort. Chris Hughton, Andre Villas-Boas, Mick McCarthy, Roberto Di Matteo and - most recently - Paolo Di Canio have all lost their jobs soon after Premier League defeats against West Brom in the last three years.

Moyes is in no danger of a similar fate. But he may yet face the kind of long winter that Ferguson endured in 1989 before finding the path to glory.

David Moyes described the loss as a 'poor performance' [REUTERS]

It was a poor result, a poor performance

David Moyes, Manchester United manager

There were few positives in a flat performance. One was Wayne Rooney's continuing ability to produce goals when United cannot create elsewhere.

The England forward's inswinging free-kick evaded everyone in a crowded penalty area to draw United level just three minutes after Amalfitano had opened the scoring.

Rooney was one of only four players retained from the team who, as Moyes acknowledged in his programme notes, were "embarrassed" in the Manchester derby last Sunday. But if he was hoping for a fresh performance, he was to be disappointed. Even the return from injury of Robin van Persie as a second-half substitute could not lift United.
Berahino should have headed Albion in front in the first half, darting in front of team-mate Victor Anichebe to glance wide Amalfitano's cross.

And they would have been ahead at the break had Stephane Sessignon - from a difficult angle - not volleyed towards the corner flag from six yards after Claudio Yacob had glanced on an Amalfitano corner.

In between, United created little, with Anderson heading Shinji Kagawa's cross against the bar, having been wrongly flagged offside.

Amalfitano deserved his goal, and Albion's heads did not drop after Rooney equalised, with Jonas Olsson's header bouncing up off the bar before Berahino struck.

United might have levelled late on, as Marouane Fellaini had a goal ruled out for offside, before fellow substitute Adnan Januzaj ended a mazy run with a shot just wide. But they hadn't shown enough fight. And as Holyfield would argue, without fight, there is no hope.

MAN OF MATCH: MORGAN AMALFITANO - the French winger is starting to look an inspired signing.

MAN UTD: De Gea, Jones, Ferdinand, Evans, Buttner, Anderson (Fellaini 68), Carrick, Nani, Kagawa (Januzaj 46), Rooney, Hernandez (Van Persie 58).

WEST BROM: Myhill, Olsson, Ridgewell, McAuley, Jones, Yacob, Sinclair (Berahino 13), Amalfitano, Mulumbu, Sessegnon (Rosenberg 90), Anichebe (Lugano 88).

Ref: M Oliver Att: 75,042