It wasn't like Albion was on the offensive or that De Gea had a lot to deal with following the aftermath of the red card. It wasn't like United were on the ropes with 10 men and that West Brom's pressure finally paid off. Pulis's side just hit 2 shots on target after the red card although one managed to find the back of the net. Another thing is that the 9 chances that West Brom created (including the one that led to their goal) were all from set-pieces.
It wasn't also the case that United were dominating and creating chances at will before the red card. In fact, United created more chances after red card (3) than before Mata was sent off (1). Likewise, The Reds had more shots (5) after the red card than before (2). Statistically, it was not a surprise that we failed to find the net on Sunday. In fact, United recorded just 7 shots, 4 out of which were blocked and only one was on target. That one shot on target by Martial was recorded even before the red card to Mata.
Mata red card gave under-pressure boss Louis Van Gaal an excuse instead of concentrating on his side frailties. His starting line-up and substitutions was too cautious for a side that work extremely hard in defence. Unless, Morgan Schneiderlin was injured, I see no point in him being dropped. I also don't get the reasoning behind taking Herrera off for Schneiderlin. Herrera wasn't having an exactly brilliant day but at least he was going forward to give support to the attack. Also, bringing a full-back for another when we had 8 minutes to get something out of this game was bizarre. Earlier in the week, the 64 year old admitted that Daley Blind was exhausted and needed rest. Yet Blind started the game and was culpable for the goal United conceded.
In truth, it was difficult to imagine where the breakthrough goal will emerge from before Rondon's opener. The game was devoid of clear cut chances and both keepers barely had saves to make. Juan Mata's gave Van Gaal a perfect excuse to make and the Dutch coach fully capitalized on it.
