10 interceptions, 4 clearances: The West Brom man who set the tone in 1-0 win v Fulham

West Bromwich Albion climbed into the top half of the Championship with a surprising 1-0 win over Fulham on Tuesday evening.

It was the Baggies’ first win at The Hawthorns under Steve Bruce, stalling the title procession of fellow newly relegated side, Fulham.

Callum Robinson scored the only goal of the game in the 64th minute as West Brom produced a very assured defensively display, to keep the usually high-scoring Cottagers at bay.

West Brom allowed just 0.46 expected goals (xG) against in the encounter, according to Infogol, as the Cottagers mustered just one shot on target in the entire match.

Semi Ajayi, Matt Clarke and Kyle Bartley deserve a lot of credit for the comfortable result and performance with the latter setting the tone from the heart of defence.

Bartley is one of a few players to be able to hold their head up high amid a very disappointing campaign for the Baggies.

The former Arsenal man has been a good leader through some difficult times and has certainly improved as a no nonsense defender in the last few seasons.

The 30-year-old intercepted the ball ten times, as per Wyscout, on Tuesday evening, showing great positioning and anticipation, crucially keeping Championship record-breaker Aleksandar Mitrovic quiet for the vast majority of the game.

Bartley also cleared the ball four times, with his ruthless approach rubbing off on those around him to produce one of the best defensive performances of the season, by any side, and a much needed clean sheet.

Bartley completed eight ball recoveries, many of them with his aerial dominance, and won 75% of his defensive duels to ensure Fulham were unable to establish a firm grip on the game.

Marshalling the defence excellently to deal with the threat of not only