Manchester United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion: 5 Talking Points as Red Devils grind much-needed home win

Manchester United labored to a vital 1-0 win at Old Trafford against West Bromwich Albion, courtesy of a twice-taken penalty from midfield maestro Bruno Fernandes.

In the aftermath of a couple of dramatic VAR interventions, the Portuguese scored the only goal of the game to hand his side their first Premier League home win of the season.

West Brom started the game on the front foot and looked the more resolute side defensively, although they needed Sam Johnstone to come to their rescue at times. The likes of Anthony Martial and Marcus Rashford came close to scoring, but neither side was able to disturb the scoreline.

The Red Devils lacked the creativity and, at some points, fared worse than their counterparts. However, a win was all they needed after the enervating international break to move up to ninth in the table.

The Baggies, despite a motivating performance, remain winless since securing promotion.

On that note, we list the five major talking points from Manchester United's 1-0 win over West Brom.

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#1 West Brom begin fearlessly, Manchester United test Johnstone

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Sam Johnstone was called into action early on in the game

Apart from a jinking run from Martial in the early stages, it was all West Brom. The visitors had plenty of the ball, with United visibly looking frustrated.

The likes of Grady Diangana and Conor Gallagher looked threatening in the advanced areas of the pitch, but a 16th-minute save from Johnstone was what ignited Manchester United's staging.

On the back of some lovely work from Fernandes and Rashford, Martial sidefooted an effort to test the palms of the West Brom shot-stopper.

Karlan Grant came close to breaking the deadlock from what was perhaps West Brom's finest passage of play. His swiftly-driven shot deflected wide of the far post.

#2 Slaven Bilic heads into half-time as the happier boss

Slaven Bilic assembled a well-drilled defensive setup against Manchester United

West Brom portrayed glimpses of their technical brilliance on both ends of the pitch.

While they were clearly the better-drilled outfit, Gallagher and Grant were also exploiting gaps between the red shirts quite fluently.

Manchester United, on the contrary, couldn't translate their possession to repeated chances. Although they called the opposition goalkeeper into action, it was far from the dominance they should've boasted at home.

Indeed, they went over six hours without scoring a league goal at Old Trafford, whereas West Brom, for the first time this season, did not trail heading into the break.

#3 VAR intervenes twice as Manchester United lead

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes converted from the spot at the second time of asking

Just as it has been doing since the start of last season, VAR intervened not once but twice in Manchester United's favor.

Fernandes supposedly tapped Gallagher's ankle inside the 18-yard-box, for which a penalty was awarded to the Baggies. Upon a VAR check, it was ruled out. Six minutes later, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side were rewarded a spot-kick following Darnell Furlong's handball.

Fernandes' shot was saved by Johnstone, but the goalkeeper was off his line before the kick was taken. A composed Bruno would not miss his second chance.

Those nine minutes changed the entire equation of the fixture, with VAR at the heart of it all.

#4 Do Manchester United need two pivots in midfield?

Nemanja Matic was often caught out of position when West Brom broke away

It may well be argued that Manchester United need more creativity when on the ball, without any opposing pressure.

Fernandes is, at times, the only creative outlet for the PL giants who struggled to break down relegation-threatened West Brom. Rashford and Martial sparingly had their chances but were mere passengers for the majority of the game.

The Nemanja Matic-Fred combination could be used against more daunting and equipped opponents. Many a time, the former was trailing against the West Brom attack and counter, while there was little or no innovation from his end either.

It's been eight matches, and Donny van de Beek is yet to start a Premier League match. This game, where West Brom sat deep and choked United for large parts, was begging for his introduction. Why he was not handed a maiden league start over 32-year-old Juan Mata remains questionable.

#5 Alex Telles enjoyed a dream debut for the Red Devils

Alex Telles is a typical gung-ho left-back

Manchester United clinched three valuable points, but there were only a few positives in that underwhelming performance. And one of them was Alex Telles' debut.

The Brazilian was an absolute live wire on the pitch for his side. He ran down the left, stretched a rather stringent Albion backline and whipped a handful of crosses into the box.

He also started attacks and was heavily involved. Telles' defensive contribution was the real highlight, as he won each of his duels and tackled sharply.

His energy to return to the back four's defensive structure and then contribute up front was a treat to watch. Telles is a typical gung-ho full-back, loaded with enthusiasm and flamboyance.

Luke Shaw faces serious competition at left-back, which is great from Manchester United and Solskjaer's perspective.