Former West Brom striker and Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman has named a trio of Baggies stars who he thought were excellent in the club’s thrashing of Leeds United on Saturday night.
A second half of five goals at the Hawthorns, four for the home side, sealed an important win for Darren Moore and his men in the hunt for a top six finish come the end of the season, while denting Leeds’ hopes of a title push after seeing Norwich take their place at the top of the table.
Speaking after the game, Goodman was left drooling over three players – goalscorer Matt Phillips and midfield pair Jake Livermore and James Morrison – and said they were the most important in victory.
He told David Prutton on Sky Sports’ broadcast (10/11, 19:33): “I thought Livermore, Phillips and Morrison were absolutely excellent. It really worked for them, they made that midfield area really condensed and compact and it made it difficult for the Leeds flair players to get on the ball.
“If you give them space they can hurt you and West Brom came up with a game plan and it worked a treat, they were brilliant.”
Opinion
Goodman has hit the nail on the head as to why West Brom were as successful as they were against Leeds – and it all came down to keeping the visitors quiet in attack while breaking with power and precision. The Sky pundit has picked out three names who are worthy of mention but let that not take away from the fact that everyone in that Baggies side played their part in a brilliant victory. As for Leeds, they lacked their own game plan to keep the likes of Jay Rodriguez at bay, instead sticking to what they knew, and that was their undoing. Marcelo Bielsa knew who was going to be dangerous and should have come up with a method to make sure they were not given time or space on the ball. Instead the home side tore through them time and again and there needs to be an inquest as to whether it was a lack of quality or tactical deficiency which let them down.