New season, old habits for Tony Pulis’s belligerent Baggies.
This was a smash and grab, achieved on the foundations of a solid backline that was again missing captain and Manchester City target Jonny Evans.
Pulis was adamant that the Northern Irishman had not ‘chucked one in’ on the back of Pep Guardiola’s interest and given the player’s character, it would appear that the reported hamstring injury is genuine.
However, after an entertaining cameo from Hal Robson-Kanu, who came off the bench, scored the winner and was then sent off in the space of 20 minutes, Evans’s club and international teammate was forthright on the issue.