Bilic explains why Bartley was dropped to bench before West Brom win v Bristol City
Slaven Bilic surprised West Brom fans when he changed his starting line-up for the first time since February 1 for the win against Bristol City.
Albion had been unchanged in their three matches prior to their trip to Ashton Gate on Saturday afternoon when Bilic decided to drop Kyle Bartley and start Ahmed Hegazi in the centre-back role alongside Semi Ajayi.
Although West Brom were in good form and Bilic was not expected to make any unforced changes to his team, Bartley had conceded a penalty and scored an own goal in his last two outings.
Many would have assumed that Bilic dropped Bartley because of that but after the match, the Baggies boss revealed that it was Hegazi’s form in training that made him make a change.
“He deserved it. He deserved it,” Bilic said, as quoted by the Birmingham Mail. “His work rate in training made me give him a chance. It made me decide to give him a chance.
“Barts has had a great season, but Ahmed deserved his chance and he did really well. We need everyone though. So far we have needed everybody and from now on we are going to need everybody. That’s it.”
Whether or not you agree with Bilic’s decision to drop Bartley, you must admit that Hegazi played a big role for West Brom on Saturday as they kept a clean sheet at Ashton Gate.
Stats by WhoScored show that the Egypt international won four aerial duels, made six clearances and made one interception to help keep the Bristol City attack at bay.
Lee Johnson’s side struggled to break down Albion’s defence, which is not something we’ve been able to say about most sides we’ve faced this season.
In other West Brom news, Albion fans are drooling over this player’s display at Bristol City.