'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer had invested heavily in his defense in the summer, in a bid to close the leakage at the back from last season. New boys Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka had looked right at home against Chelsea, helping the Red Devils seal a clean sheet in the first game of the season. While the early signs were ominous, the game against Wolves on Monday was an entirely different test for Solskjaer.
The United defense had struggled to deal with the movement and threat of Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez during recent visits to the Molineux, while Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves had run riot in the midfield. As Solskjaer attempted to aim high in the new season, Wolves represented a marker of their improvement from last season. Solskjaer did not have too many reasons to alter his winning combination from Chelsea, but the Norwegian did make one vital change in the team.
Solskjaer continued with David de Gea in goal, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Victor Lindelof, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw making up the back four. Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay were selected in midfield, alongside Jesse Lingard in the No. 10 role. Up front, Solskjaer made his only change in the team, opting for Daniel James and Marcus Rashford on either side of Anthony Martial.
Even though the Red Devils took the lead in the first half, Solskjaer's men failed to take control of the game and allowed the home side to equalise. Paul Pogba missed a penalty in the second half, and the game ultimately ended 1-1.
Solskjaer's plans were just not good enough on the night and here are 3 tactics from the Norwegian that cost them the win.
#3 An overly cautious midfield
Against Chelsea, Manchester United were devastating through the middle and had the desire to pile men forward. Perhaps the home advantage worked in their favour, but those tactics ultimately helped the Red Devils win the game.
Against Wolves, Solskjaer took a more cautious approach and was guilty of giving Wolves too much respect. Both Pogba and McTominay stayed grounded, even though United dominated possession in the opening stages. This allowed Wolves to remain positive, even after they had conceded a goal in the 27th minute. On the rare occasions that Pogba did bomb forward, United had a certain zeal in the attack, but that was short-lived.
On a night when Solskjaer wanted to defeat the demons of the past, his decision to implement an overly cautious midfield cost them the game.
#2 Trying to play possession-based football
After taking over as the United boss, Solskjaer had shown an inclination toward counter-attacking football, utilising fast and fluid front players who can break away in speed. His current United team is blessed with pace and power on the counter and against Chelsea, United gave a stellar account of their speed on the break. Strangely though, against Wolves, Solskjaer deviated from his tried and tested tactics and attempted to play possession-based football from the start.
The Wolves team is known for their counter-attacking speed and relentlessness on the pitch. United did manage to keep them at bay during the initial stages and even took the lead. As the home side piled men forward in search of an equalizer, the stage was set for Solskjaer to return to his counter-attacking strategy and kill the game on the break. However, United were too slow on the ball and reluctant on the break. As a result, they failed to break down the opposite and lost control of the game.
#1 Lack of pressing
At the flag end of last season, Manchester United ran out of legs and ended their season in a whimper. Solskjaer's demanding regime on the field had taken a toll on the squad, and the Norwegian went about implementing a tougher training schedule in the preseason to get his team fit for his tactics. The plan was simple - Solskjaer wanted his team to run the most on the field. Against Chelsea, the pressing play was quite effective. On Monday night though, United failed to implement their tried and tested routine.
Strangely, there was very less off the ball pressing by the away team as the game wore on. In the second half, as Wolves grew in confidence, this became a problem for United, as the home side were afforded a lot of time and space on the ball. Sadly, Solskjaer failed to deal with it, and the lack of pressing came back to haunt them.
From a well-crafted Wolves corner, the ball fell to Ruben Neves at the edge of the penalty area. The Portuguese had all the time in the world to take two touches unchallenged in such a dangerous area and scored a wonderful long ranger to get Wolves back into the game.
