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After a morale-boosting midweek win against Young Boys, Manchester United were back in the Premier League on Saturday to face newcomers Wolverhampton Wanderers at home.
The two sides had faced each other 98 times, with United registering 48 wins. History was on United's side on this tie, but Wolves have been a different team this season. They had been lively in the league so far, losing just 1 of the first 5 games, which included a hard-earned draw against Manchester City.
Nuno Espirito Santo has been in charge for two years and drilled his team to be decisive in attack and strong in defence and they were no pushovers - they were 9th in the table, one point and one place behind Manchester United.
Mourinho had to adjust his midfield in the absence of Nemanja Matic and Fred was drafted in, to partner Fellaini and Pogba. The front three remained the same from the last game - Sanchez, Lukaku and Lingard. At the back, Valencia was reinstated in his position alongside Smalling, Lindelof and Shaw. De Gea continued in goal. With Sir Alex in attendance, the mood at Old Trafford was ecstatic.
Also Read: Twitter reactions to Sir Alex's return to Old Trafford
Wolves started the game quite well, but United found their way back thanks to some superb goalkeeping from David De Gea while the score was still 0-0. And in the 18th minute, Pogba beautifully set up Fred to score the opening goal of the night, a move that would have pleased the Legendary Manager in the stands as well.
United looked in control throughout the first half and almost doubled the lead when Fred's free-kick was brilliantly saved by Patricio just before the break.
However, Wolves found their way back into the game in the second half, against the run of play, with Moutinho elegantly finding the top corner from the edge of the box. The score remained 1-1 at the end of the game.
United had 65% possession, 15 shots, 5 of which were on target and had attempted 683 passes with 84% accuracy, yet could not secure the win. Even though United had taken the lead and were the better team at the start of the second half, Mourinho committed 4 errors that ultimately cost United the game:
#4 Shifting Fellaini’s position in the second half
Wolves started the game with intensity and determination, which saw them send the ball into the United penalty area in the opening minute, only for Fellaini to intervene at the last moment to send the ball out for a corner. It was a sign of things to come.
Fellaini only ventured forward a couple of times in the first half and spent most of his time near his defenders, covering for the marauding Shaw or religiously tracking back runs from the midfield to spoil Wolves' moves.
Having Fellaini around gave the United defence a solidity that is immensely required still now. In the midfield, the Belgian enabled his midfield partners Fred and Pogba to invest more in the offensive play.
Strangely, Mourinho changed Fellaini’s position after the break. The Belgian started the second half considerably higher and it jeopardized United’s defensive solidity. Maybe it was overconfidence from Mourinho, but the Portuguese seemed to think that Wolves did not have enough firepower in them to cause United worries.
Putting Fellaini further ahead highlighted the Belgian’s woody touches, sloth-like movement and despicable passing abilities. Wolves made Mourinho pay for underestimating them though, because when Pogba was caught on the ball, there was no one to cover for him and when the ball finally fell to Moutinho, Fellaini was nowhere in sight.
Yet, having the Belgian around the defence in the first half had negated the Portuguese’s effect in the first half. Moutinho got time and space on the ball and made United pay.
#3 Opting for long ball tactics
United were doing very well in the first half. The movement was slick, the front three were combining very well together, they were switching places and giving the Wolves defence a pretty hard time.
Fred and Pogba were moving the ball nicely, finding spaces, sending in good balls. The movement around the penalty area was impressive and United were actually playing attractive, effective football that had kept Wolves almost out of the game.
After the break, Mourinho opted to change the formula that had been working so well and instead, tried to find a way through Fellaini, off all people. The problem with the Belgian is that there are no other facets to his football other than receiving the ball on his chest or heading the ball to a teammate, both of which he is quite good at and as a result, this tactic is effective only sporadically.
For a team like United, with so much quality on the ball, firepower and speed on the ranks, there was no need to deploy the long ball game from the start of the second half, especially when they were leading 1-0! The resultant outcome was zero, United rarely looked like they would score again. Lukaku did not receive the service he deserved and United failed to find the goal.
Whatever Mourinho tried to achieve backfired and put him in a mess, all because he changed tactics when it was not needed.
#2 Clipping Pogba’s wings
Paul Pogba had a great midweek and has been in good scoring form this season. The first half started with the Frenchman the farthest up in the field among the midfielders. From here, he was keeping the Wolves defence and midfield on their toes, taking up good positions, finding teammates, spraying the ball wide and setting up Lukaku.
He was having a positive impact on the game and the way he set up Fred’s goal showed how valuable he is around the box. In a moment of pure genius, Pogba attempted to hit the ball coming back at him first time, but at the last moment, shifted his weight and passed it for Fred to finish.
It was the highlight of his game and it showed him arriving at a confidence that could make him the most feared midfielder in the world soon. Yet at the start of the second half, Pogba found himself in a double pivot role alongside Fred, a move that immediately affected United’s attacking play.
After Wolves got the goal, the Frenchman continued to venture forward with caution, because the security at the back was gone. After a while, he was placed in a midfield two with Fellaini, perhaps the worst player he could have asked for as a central midfield partner.
When Pereira came on, Pogba got a little more freedom but was still doing the tracking back while the talentless Belgian stayed rooted up ahead. It was an absolute mockery of the Frenchman’s qualities by Mourinho and it cost United 2 points on the night.
#1 Taking off Sanchez and Fred
Sanchez was due for a big game ahead of Wolves' visit to Old Trafford. And the Chilean had started this game quite well. He effortlessly switched places through the front three, combining equally well with both Shaw and Valencia. He tracked back to retrieve the ball and cover for Shaw.
The Chilean regularly exchanged passes to find pockets of space or create chances. It was from his cross that the ball found its way back to Pogba who set up Fred to score United’s goal. His pace, trickery and upper body strength gave Wolves a tough time in the first half.
He started the second half on the same note, however, Mourinho decided to take him off, put on Martial in his place and shifted Lingard to a number 10 role to accommodate Mata. Perhaps the Portuguese would have been better advised to use Sanchez as the number 10 and take off the pathetic Lingard instead.
It was another error from Mourinho that affected the game poorly. He did understand his mistake and ultimately took off Lingard and put Pereira on, but the damage had already been done.
Fred, on the other hand, had an outstanding first half and scored a beautiful goal. He almost scored his second at the stroke of half-time when his fantastic free-kick was saved very well by Patricio. The Brazilian had been all around the pitch in the first half and excelled in the box to box role.
His turn, touch of pace and ball control was the perfect combination for Pogba’s elegance in the field. Those two worked in tandem, showing uncanny understanding and dictating the game easily. Strangely, Mourinho first shifted him to a deep-lying role and then took him off totally, opting instead to use Fellaini in his role.
Needless to say, the Belgian failed miserably. Fred had been United’s best player in the first half and taking him off saw United lose their edge in midfield. They also lost a tireless worker on the pitch and it was this decision from Mourinho that impacted the game the most and United never managed to recover their way back into the game.
