For the final instalment of our best ever results series, we take a look at the match that inspired the series in the first place, Albion's incredible victory against Manchester United last season.
May 7 2022: Albion 4 Manchester United 0 (Premier League)
Every significant period of a club’s history needs a defining performance and this was surely it for the Graham Potter project. The head coach’s footballing vision of creative, confident possession football had been glimpsed, fleetingly at times, before coming to full fruition in away wins in the 2021-22 season at Wolves, Arsenal and Tottenham. But there had never been a signature home performance - until now.
True, Manchester United were a side low on confidence and out of form, but they were still packed with internationals who had won titles for their clubs and countries. Yet Albion simply blew them away, and if anything the score flattered the visitors.
Moises Caicedo got the ball rolling on his first Amex start with a 25-yard shot through the eye of a needle that beat David De Gea at his near post. And the fun really started in the second half as Marc Cucurella, Pascal Gross and Leandro Trossard added further goals.
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Gross’s effort summed up the quality of the Albion display. First, goalkeeper Robert Sanchez revealed the wisdom of Potter’s insistence that a goalkeeper should be able to play the ball as well as stop it with a pass of sublime accuracy up the left wing.
Double player of the season Cucurella, who started the game in the back three, killed the dropping ball with one touch before passing inside to Trossard. He found Gross, who took the ball past France World Cup-winner Rafael Varane with two touches before squeezing it past De Gea from an almost impossible angle with his third - Potterball at its finest.
Thanks to Albion historian Tim Carder and the Goldstone Wrap, the Albion Retro Blog, www.thegoldstonewrap.com.