Exclusive: Phillips defends under-fire Pereira as some West Brom fans slam display
We’re delighted to welcome former West Brom striker Kevin Phillips as our exclusive columnist. Each week he’ll be giving his views on the biggest talking points at The Hawthorns…
Kevin Phillips has defended Matheus Pereira after the West Brom attacker was criticised by some fans for his performance against Burnley last week.
Pereira, 24, was slammed by a section of supporters for his poor set-pieces and failure to score a golden chance that was presented to him in the second half.
The former Sporting CP playmaker has been Albion’s star outfield player this season, scoring six goals and supplying three assists in 22 appearances across all competitions.
He’s been off the boil for a few weeks though now but Phillips is adamant he wasn’t as bad as some fans made out at Turf Moor.
“I thought he was one of the better players at the weekend. He looked lively and quite positive. I wouldn’t say his main attribute is his finishing, he’s more of a creator so I’m not completely surprised [he didn’t score],” Phillips told West Brom News.
“I thought he was one of their good performers at the weekend considering they had their backs to the wall for the majority of the game.
“Ultimately, draws aren’t good enough at this stage of the season. It’s a good point away at Burnley, don’t get me wrong. But when you are where you are, you need to win and it doesn’t help to have a man sent off.
“Pereira showed glimpses of what he can do and hopefully he can build on that and go again this weekend.”
Pereira sometimes looks as though he’s trying too hard.
We saw it in the Championship last season after the COVID-enforced break as West Brom limped their way to automatic promotion to the Premier League.
In a lot of games, it just ticks for Pereira. Every touch he makes is perfect, every pass he makes is inch-perfect and every shot he takes makes the net ripple.
It just didn’t happen for him against Burnley and hasn’t done really for a few matches.
Sam Allardyce’s decision to drop Pereira at Tottenham was a shocker and that could have impacted his morale in the last week but ultimately, the Brazilian is our best player and we have to get behind him on his off-days.
In other West Brom news, Big Sam has shared an update on Robert Snodgrass’ condition after he missed the Burnley match.
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