Six talking points from West Brom's 4-2 win over Bristol City

1 BARNES WILL TEAR YOU APART

Gareth Southgate went to Pride Park on Tuesday night to watch Mason Mount play for Derby. Perhaps he should have been at The Hawthorns.

Barnes is a superstar-in-waiting and a future England player, that much is clear. How he wasn’t in the England U21 squad for the international break just gone is anybody’s guess.

There were impressive performances from plenty of other players against Bristol City, including Dwight Gayle, Jake Livermore, and Jay Rodriguez, but at 20-years-old, Barnes is the darling of this team.

Hopefully Leicester do not recall him in January, and recognise the benefits of so much game time.

2 ALBION ARE PENALTY KINGS

Jay Rodriguez has nerves of steel. We’re only eight games into the league campaign and he’s already dispatched four spot-kicks from four attempts. Incredibly, all four have been won by his strike partner Dwight Gayle.

But Albion’s 100 per cent penalty record extends to the other end, where they have conceded three and let none in thanks to Sam Johnstone's heroics and Benik Afobe's adrenaline.

It’s a remarkable turnaround for the Baggies, who only won two penalties in their last two seasons in the Premier League, and the season before that they missed four out of five spot-kicks. Rodriguez now has five from five in Baggies colours.

3 BARRY ADDS COMPOSURE TO CENTRAL MIDFIELD

Credit to Darren Moore for dropping his captain in favour of Gareth Barry after the veteran midfielder’s impressive cameo in Birmingham, and his decision was vindicated.

The 37-year-old has been playing this role for the best part of two decades, and it showed. He’s comfortable on the ball and capable of breaking up play too.

Jake Livermore played well too and even more encouraging were the composed performances off the bench from Wes Hoolahan and Sam Field.

It seems there are enough options in the squad capable of fixing the central midfield area, starting with Barry at the base of it.

4 JOHNSTONE IS KEY PART OF THE SYSTEM

Apart from one missed punch from a corner, the keeper backed up his penalty heroics at St Andrew’s with another good game.

A series of smart saves kept Bristol City’s scoring down, particularly in the first half, and he had the presence of mind to roll the ball to Barnes in order to set up the second goal.

His shot-stopping is brilliant and his distribution is usually spot on. The only question mark surrounds his ability to come and claim crosses, but at just 25-years-old, hopefully that commanding presence will come.

His two penalty saves have been crucial this season and he seems to be going from strength to strength.

5 HOME COMFORTS AT THE HAWTHORNS REAPING DIVIDENDS

Darren Moore's record at The Hawthorns (as a manager) is P9, W6, D2, L1. Apart from a last-minute defeat to Bolton Wanderers on the opening day of the season, his form at home is imperious.

There have been important victories over strong opposition like Tottenham last season as well as Stoke City and Bristol City this season, as well as goalfests like the 7-1 victory over QPR and last night's 4-2 win over the Robins.

The Hawthorns is becoming a fortress under Moore, and just as importantly, a fun place to go and watch football again.

6 BAGGIES BACK TO BEING THE GREAT ENTERTAINERS

Yes, the defence needs shoring up, although the back three deserve some sympathy because this system does invite pressure onto them. However, going forward, Albion are electric.

They’ve scored 20 goals from their first eight league games and conceded 12. At this rate, they’re going to score 115 goals this season and concede 69.

To put that into perspective, Wolves were last season’s top scorers with 82 and the only teams that conceded more than 70 were the bottom four.

Enjoy the ride because there are guaranteed goals down The Hawthorns this season.