Possession lost 42 times and no key passes - West Brom's 3 worst players v Birmingham

Sam Johnstone, Kyle Bartley and Karlan Grant all struggled in West Brom’s hugely disappointing 1-0 defeat away to Birmingham City.

The Baggies knew that only a win would suffice at St Andrew’s on Sunday afternoon as they desperately sought to stay in touch with those in the Championship play-off positions.

Instead, Steve Bruce’s side suffered another loss, as their season continues to go from bad to worse, with their March revival seemingly a thing of the past and a gap of eight points to make up on sixth-placed Blackburn with only seven matches remaining.

According to Sofascore, there were three players who stood out as West Brom’s worst on the day among those to have played at least 45 minutes of action.

Bartley was far from his best against Birmingham, not showing too much authority at the heart of the defence.

The centre-back lost possession 19 times overall, summing up the visitors’ sloppiness on the ball, and he had just a 66% pass completion rate. No key passes from Bartley also outlined a lack of quality in possession from the defender.

This wasn’t the best showing from the Baggies goalkeeper, who was unable to record a precious clean sheet.

The Englishman made only one save during the entire 90 minutes and just 10 of his 25 long balls were accurate, a rate of carelessness which arguably played a role in West Brom not controlling the game.

Johnstone also made no punches, high claims or key passes and gave away possession 15 times.

Grant was hoping to add to his 14 Championship goals so far this season but that failed to materialise at St Andrew’s.

The 24-year-old managed just a solitary shot off target and none on target in what was an ineffective showing from start to finish, with possession lost eight times.

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