Manchester United’s Jesse Lingard (R) celebrates with Marcos Rojo after scoring a goal against West Bromwich Albion at Old Trafford stadium in Manchester yesterday. (AFP)

AFP/London


Jesse Lingard’s first Manchester United goal inspired his side to a 2-0 win over West Bromwich Albion yesterday left them a point shy of the English Premier League summit.
United had ended a 404-minute goal drought against CSKA Moscow in mid-week, but they laboured again until Lingard broke the deadlock in the 52nd minute at Old Trafford. Juan Mata added a stoppage-time penalty.
Victory kept Louis van Gaal’s side in fourth place, but they are now just a point below co-leaders Manchester City and Arsenal, both of whom play on Sunday, and third-place Leicester City, who won 2-1 at home to Watford.
“Everybody knows who has played football that the most difficult way to score is against a very defensive team,” Van Gaal told the BBC.
“The space is only at the wings and we have tried to do that. The only way you can play against such a defensive, organised team is the way we do it.
“You need patience. In the second half West Brom are more tired and the chances come.”
Van Gaal named the same team that had shaded CSKA 1-0 in the Champions League, but they created only two real chances in the first half, with Mata curling wide and Anthony Martial stinging Boaz Myhill’s palms.
It drew the familiar chant of ‘Attack! Attack! Attack!’ from the home fans, but early in the second half Lingard made the breakthrough, gathering Chris Brunt’s clearing header and brilliantly curling in from outside the box.
Mata stroked home a penalty in the 91st minute after Gareth McAuley had been sent off for chopping down the fleeing Martial.
At the King Power Stadium, Jamie Vardy scored for the ninth league game running as Leicester sank Watford to continue their fine start to the season under manager Claudio Ranieri.
A howler from Heurelho Gomes saw the Watford goalkeeper allow N’Golo Kante’s toe-poke to trickle through his fingers in the 52nd minute.
Gomes then fouled Vardy inside the box and the England forward netted the ensuing spot-kick after regular penalty-taker Riyad Mahrez stood aside.
It made Vardy the first English player to score in nine successive Premier League games and left him within one game of former United striker Ruud van Nistelrooy’s record.
Troy Deeney replied from the spot for Watford. “It’s great for Jamie Vardy to score again,” said Ranieri. “I don’t know if it’s another record, but he continues in a good moment.”
West Ham United failed to make ground on the leaders after a 1-1 draw at home to Everton, who levelled through Romelu Lukaku after Manuel Lanzini had put the hosts ahead with a fine, bending effort on the half-hour.
Lukaku equalised two minutes before half-time, rounding Adrian from Gerard Deulofeu’s pass and rolling home his seventh goal in seven games against West Ham. In a further blow to the hosts, they lost chief creator Dimitri Payet and substitute Enner Valencia to injury in the second period.
Newcastle United climbed out of the relegation zone at Bournemouth’s expense after a a 27th-minute Ayoze Perez strike and a string of saves by goalkeeper Rob Elliot earned them a smash-and-grab 1-0 win at Dean Court.
Sunderland remain in the bottom three, four points from safety, after losing 1-0 at home to Southampton, who prevailed courtesy of Dusan Tadic’s 69th-minute penalty.
But Norwich City pulled away from danger, climbing above struggling champions Chelsea and Newcastle after Jonny Howson’s 70th-minute tap-in gave Alex Neil’s men a 1-0 home win over over Swansea City.
Chelsea failed to deliver the gift that might have taken the suffocating pressure off an absent friend as manager Jose Mourinho was forced to endure yet another defeat at Stoke City.