Didn’t have a shot to save in the opening half, but had a little bit of luck as he watched Jones’ first half header drop inches wide of his far post. There was nothing he could do about Whitehead's goal as the ball was past him before he could react.
Had his hands full against Jones and fought well with the striker for every ball in an even battle. He was lucky that the striker didn’t punish him when he gifted him a free header but the chance dropped just wide of the far post. Was at fault for the Stoke goal as his clearance was not good enough, and Kightly punished him with a cross to Whitehead who scored.
Dealt with the threat of Walters well down the right, he battled well in the air with the winger and executed some perfect tackles to deny him Walters a chance to cross.
Shared the responsibility of marking Jones with Olsson and did well against the big striker when called upon. There were occasions when he gave the ball away cheaply but he always worked hard to get the ball back for his side before offloading to a team mate.
After spending time on the sidelines through injury the full-back returned to the starting line-up and coped with Etherington well. He nearly opened the scoring in the 36th minute but his audacious shot from the half way line was tipped over the bar by Begovic.
Worked well with Mulumbu in the middle of the pitch but the tough tackling from Stoke’s midfield made it difficult for him to create anything of note for his side. He was replaced by Brunt late on.
Found himself frustrated against the strong defence of Stoke and getting past Cameron wasn’t something he was able to do too often. He showed his ability from set pieces but never came up with a telling delivery to break the deadlock.
Regularly used to get their passing moves going but the close attention of Stoke’s midfield made it hard for to find enough space to push his side forward. When he did spot a gap he broke through it well but was unable to test Begovic.
Drifted in and out of the game which will have disappointed his manager after recalling him to the starting line-up, he never really got the chance to influence the game until the second half when he began to have more of an impact.
Made his first Premier League start and it took him a while to settle into the game, but after 20 minutes he showed his quality with a lovely through ball for Dorrans but Shawcross read the pass well and denied the chance.
Full of running and a real pest to the Stoke defence but that meant he wasn’t always in the penalty area to take advantage of what chances his side did create.
Replaced Yacob in the 81st minute but had little impact.
Replaced Rosenberg in the 64th minute but struggled to make an impact on the game.
Replaced Gera in the 64th minute and looked lively but he could not find a way through the Stoke defence.
Like his opposite number Myhill had very little to do with West Brom just as shot-shy as Stoke. The one time he was called into action, in the 36th minute, he did well to tip Reid’s long range effort over the bar.
The American is really showing his versatility for Tony Pulis’ side in recent matches filling in across the back four, today he was at left back and looked comfortable against the Albion forwards.
Combined well with Shawcross at the centre of Stoke’s defence to keep Long under control, although some of his challenges were a little crude at times. His legal tackles were always very strong and stopped the Albion moves in their tracks.
The Stoke captain had the lively Long to deal with for the majority of the game and in general did well, although there were occasions where the Albion frontman got the better of him and made the defender foul him.
The full back looked composed in the defensive third of the pitch and handled the threat of Gera well, however going forward his final delivery lacked any sort of quality to give Jones a chance of testing Myhill.
Got up and down in midfield to support both his defence and his forwards but he lacked creativity to really open up the Baggies defence. His commitment in a challenge shone through as he regularly put his body on the line to win the ball back for his side, and generally he was successful with his tackles.
The midfielder was always calm in possession, and read the game well to intercept passes from the West Brom midfield. He also executed some perfectly timed tackles to keep the hosts at bay in a solid performance in front of his back four.
He tried hard to create opportunities for his side but tended to rely on long range, high risk passes which rarely beat the West Brom back four and caused some frustration for his team mates. Covered a lot of ground in the middle of the pitch and is definitely working better for his new side compared to earlier in the season. He was replaced by Whitehead in the 65th minute.
The winger had very little to work with down the left as the visitors struggled to free him against Reid. The lack of ball into him meant that he was not really able to feed Jones and after a frustrating 60 minutes he was replaced by Kightly.
Given the chance to replace Crouch as the lone front man Jones worked hard and showed good link-up play to get his side into the game. He never gave the Albion defence a moments peace but should have done better with his first half header which he put wide from a great position. He had another chance in the second half as he raced away from the defence but he was denied by a great last ditch challenge from McAuley.
He worked hard down the right hand side to put pressure on the Albion defence and stretch them in order to make room for Jones in the middle. He had a good battle with Popov but was never really given a sight of goal to test Myhill.
Replaced Adam in the 65th minute and had an immediate impact as his run into the penalty area nine minutes after coming on was found by Kightly, and he fired past Myhill on the half volley.
Came on for Etherington midway through the second half and looked extremely lively, which was evident as he created Whitehead’s goal. He latched onto a clearance from Olsson and found his fellow substitute who fired into the back of the net.
| Tournament | |
| Position | |
| Ranking |
| Rank/Player | Position | Team | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Luis Suárez | Striker | Liverpool | 3.52 |
| 2. Juan Mata | Striker | Chelsea FC | 3.37 |
| 3. Marouane Fellaini | Midfielder | Everton | 3.37 |
| 4. Coutinho | Midfielder | Liverpool | 3.33 |
| 5. Santi Cazorla | Midfielder | Arsenal FC | 3.32 |
| 6. Leighton Baines | Defender | Everton | 3.27 |
| 7. Carlos Tévez | Striker | Manchester City | 3.27 |
| 8. Robin van Persie | Striker | Manchester United | 3.27 |
| 9. C. Benteke | Striker | Aston Villa | 3.24 |
| 10. Eden Hazard | Midfielder | Chelsea FC | 3.24 |
| 11. David Silva | Striker | Manchester City | 3.22 |
| 12. Kevin Mirallas | Striker | Everton | 3.20 |
| 13. Phil Jagielka | Defender | Everton | 3.19 |
| 14. Tomas Rosicky | Midfielder | Arsenal FC | 3.19 |
| 15. Gareth Bale | Midfielder | Tottenham | 3.19 |
| 16. Daniel Sturridge | Striker | Liverpool | 3.19 |
| 17. Leon Osman | Midfielder | Everton | 3.18 |
| 18. Alex McCarthy | Goalkeeper | Reading | 3.17 |
| 19. Romelu Lukaku | Striker | West Bromwich Albion | 3.16 |
| 20. Jack Wilshere | Midfielder | Arsenal FC | 3.15 |
| Player | Goals | Penalties | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Robin van Persie Striker Manchester United |
25 | 3 |
|
Luis Suárez Striker Liverpool |
23 | 0 |
|
Gareth Bale Midfielder Tottenham |
20 | 0 |
|
C. Benteke Striker Aston Villa |
19 | 3 |
|
Michu Midfielder Swansea City |
19 | 0 |
