Isaac Price scored twice and set up another as West Bromwich Albion came from behind to beat promotion favourites Burnley 3-1 at the Hawthorns, maintaining their perfect start to the season. The Northern Ireland international curled in a second-half opener and added a penalty after Harry Whitwell had cancelled out Callum Styles's early own goal.
Morrison calls for humility after dominant display
Head coach James Morrison insisted his side must "stay humble" despite the impressive victory. "I felt it was a top performance. I enjoyed it at times for the intensity with the lads willing to run for each other," he said. "We did the basics really well – we won tackles, and when we lost the ball, we ran back and when the opportunities were given to us, we took advantage."
Morrison added: "I felt like Burnley couldn't handle our intensity, and I could smell that at half-time, so the message was to up the intensity." The win was Albion's third straight in all competitions and second in the league, leaving them second in the early table behind Millwall on goal difference.
Fast start sees two goals inside 18 minutes
Burnley, without injured star striker Zian Flemming amid intense transfer speculation, took the lead in the eighth minute when Styles turned Jacob Bruun Larsen's cross into his own net. Albion complained that Hannibal Mejbri fouled Felix Horn Myhre in the buildup 70 yards away, but several passages of play unfolded before the goal. Styles had to make contact to prevent Oliver Sonne getting a chance, but the ball hit his left heel and flew in.
Whitwell equalised on 18 minutes, slotting low to Max Weiss's left from 12 yards for the 20-year-old's first league goal for Albion. Burnley appeared wrongfooted by Jimmy-Jay Morgan's flick-on from Price's cross before Bashir Humphreys failed to clear. Burnley went closest to regaining the lead when Bruun Larsen sidefooted against the foot of the post from Marcus Edwards's cross.
Price inspires second-half turnaround
After the break, Albion produced a dominant performance. Price put them ahead in the 46th minute, curling the ball beyond Weiss, who had strayed five yards off his line, into the far corner. The goal came from a loose ball when Morgan tried to help back Styles's cross and Hannibal challenged.
Burnley made a triple change in the 57th minute with the arrival of Ugo Raghouber, Zeki Amdouni, and Dastan Satpayev. Amdouni tested Max O'Leary with a rising, curling effort from 20 yards, but it flew straight at the Albion keeper. Albion sealed the win when Humphreys upended Whitwell for a clear penalty, and Price fired low to Weiss's right with the keeper going the wrong way.
Managers react to contrasting performances
Morrison said: "We enjoy competing against the so-called bigger teams and we competed really well today. We don't want to get carried away. We have to keep our feet on the ground, keep working hard and stay humble." Burnley head coach Nicky Hayen admitted: "I think we didn't have the energy, desire and hunger of the home team. You also have to give credit to West Brom. You can always say we played a bad game but they had the structure, a lot of good energy, hunger and desire. We had problems and no solutions. I didn't expect this – it was an eye-opener for everyone, myself included."
Morrison also defended Aune Heggebø, who missed the game following a retrospective Football Association two-match ban for "deception of a match official" after his goal against Norwich went in off his hand. Albion have appealed. "We were really frustrated and shocked. Bo was disappointed so we had to back him and we wanted to appeal," said Morrison. "He was deemed to have cheated the referee which he didn't. Yes the ball hit his hand but with the pace of the cross and the keeper touching it, it's very hard to get out of the way."
