Match Review: Manchester United 0-1 Wolves
Manchester United slumped to a first defeat under interim manager Ralf Rangnick on Monday night, losing 1-0 to a resilient Wolves side that registered their first win at Old Trafford in 42 years.
How did United set up?
Despite having played a matter of days ago, Rangnick opted to stick with the same personnel who achieved a 3-1 win over Burnley, except a forced change in the form of Phil Jones who came in for an injured Harry Maguire.
With Eric Bailly away at the African Cup of Nations and Victor Lindelöf a victim of Covid-19, it was inevitable that Raphael Varane would feature alongside Jones, forming a partnership that Sir Alex Ferguson himself envisaged around 10 years ago.
Bruno Fernandes, available again following his suspension, was a notable absentee, with many expecting him to walk back into the side. The Portuguese international sat on the United bench alongside Marcus Rashford, who didn’t play a minute against the Clarets last Thursday.
In his renowned 4-2-2-2 system, the German manager clearly didn’t want to tweak a winning formula.
Here was the starting lineup and substitutes:
Embed from Getty ImagesStarting XI: David De Gea (GK), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (RB), Phil Jones (CB), Raphael Varane (CB), Luke Shaw (LB), Nemanja Matic (CDM), Scott McTominay (CM), Mason Greenwood (CAM/RW), Jadon Sancho (CAM/LW), Edison Cavani (ST), Cristiano Ronaldo (ST).
Subs: Dean Henderson, Diogo Dalot, Alex Telles, Fred, Bruno Fernandes, Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard, Marcus Rashford, Anthony Elanga.
How it went down
On the whole, the first half was a fairly forgettable one in the eyes of many Reds fans. Despite a rich depth of attacking flair through the likes of Greenwood, Sancho, Cavani and Ronaldo, chance creation was painfully minimal, and the overall chemistry between the United attack was non-existent.
Embed from Getty ImagesWhilst Wolves mustered up a whopping 15 shots before the interval, the most an away side have managed in the first half in the league at the Theatre of Dreams since Opta records began in 2003, the Old Trafford faithful had little action to get them off their seats across the 45 minutes.
Although, in spite of the dominance from the away side, United never really looked on the ropes. Phil Jones, making his first appearance in 712 days, looked alert and robust at the back, making a superb intervention as Raul Jimenez looked set to score in the box. Ruben Neves taunted the fans with a delightful dipping volley, but De Gea pulled out a fine save to deny the Wolves midfielder from distance.
From a United point of view, the most memorable opportunity to strike came through Sancho, who was efficiently played in by Greenwood on the breakaway. Despite the fact Ronaldo was in space to his left, the £72m man decided to go alone, but he failed to convert past a stubborn Wolves defence.
The half ended 0-0, and although Bruno Lage was bound to have been the happier of the managers, his side, unlucky to go in at the break on level terms.
Second Half
Heading into the second half, fans and pundits alike new that the home side had to up their game in order to get the points. Even though the progression of the ball was typically slow in the first half, Rangnick held back on making changes, waiting until the 60th minute to introduce Fernandes from the bench.
Embed from Getty ImagesPrior to Fernandes coming on for Greenwood, the game had somewhat of a dry patch, but the introduction of the Portuguese Magnifico sparked United into life- temporarily that is. Within minutes of coming on, Matic pulled back a delightful pass to Fernandes, but he failed to convert from close range, rattling the woodwork when he really should have scored.
Ronaldo had a header ruled out moments later; he was always offside from the set-piece and VAR couldn’t help United out on that occasion. That was about as good as it got from the Red Devils. Rashford and Elanga were both introduced at some point, but their impact was minimal.
The game looked like it was going to end a frustrating 0-0 draw, but in the final stages of the game, Joao Moutinho struck a devastating blow past De Gea, who was left helpless as the ball rolled effortlessly into the bottom corner. There is an argument to be had as to whether or not Jones could have diverted his headed clearance elsewhere, or maybe Shaw could have done better to stop Adama Traore putting a cross in originally, but one thing that can’t be disputed is that Wolves were deserving of their goal in the 82nd minute, which was a true head-in-hands moment for United supporters across the world.
Final Score: Manchester United 0-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers (Joao Moutinho, 82’).
Man of the match
Embed from Getty ImagesThe whole team lacked fluidity today, but there were a couple of individual performances that certain players should take some pride from. Greenwood looked lively and prominent in the United attack, and the decision to take the youngster off on the hour mark was not received particularly well by the crowd, but it was Jones who many fans believe was the star of the underwhelming show, with fans chanting his “Always believe in the Jones!” chant a few times throughout the game.
With 3 tackles, 2 interceptions and 3 blocks across the course of the match, the Englishman did himself proud today on a personal level. As was stated earlier, Jones had been out of action for an entire 712 days, with his last game coming in January 2020 against Tranmere Rovers.
Given the context, the injury-ridden defender looked confident on the ball, eager in the tackle and strong in one-on-one battles, and should probably start the next game if he is fit to do so, with United’s options rather limited. In the match, Jones was everything that Maguire hasn’t been in recent weeks, meaning that he should surely be rewarded with more game time in the near future.
The bigger picture
Embed from Getty ImagesIf the battle for Champions League qualification wasn’t hard enough, United made it a whole lot more difficult for themselves after slumping to another Premier League defeat. The loss sees United stay 7th in the table.
The chance to close the gap was there, with United having a couple of games in hand on West Ham (5th) and Arsenal (4th) before the game kicked off. Although the Reds still have a game in hand on those sides, it feels like another massive opportunity missed, a trait of mediocrity that fans have become accustomed to since the departure of Sir Alex Ferguson in 2013.
To rub salt in the wounds, the defeat means United have now lost and drawn more games (10) than they have won in this current campaign (9).
It is evident that activity must take place in the January transfer window; will Rangnick demand signings, or will the Glazers fail to back yet another manager in the post-Fergie era? That is a debate to be had in itself.
United are now out of action until a week today, when they will face Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa in the FA Cup 3rd round, before facing them again in the league the following Saturday.
