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Wolverhampton Wanderers beat Manchester United 2-1 to cause a major upset in the Premier League last night. It was United’s second defeat in their last 3 league matches and it jeopardizes their chances of finishing in the top 4 somewhat.
Scott McTominay opened the scoring for United in the 13th minute, but Wolves equalized through Diogo in the 12 minutes later. Chris Smalling’s own goal in the 77th minute sealed a memorable win for Wolves, who have been really impressive under Nuno Espirito Santo. The defeat meant United dropped to the 5th position in the league table with 61 points from 32 matches, while Wolves remained in the 7th position with 47 points from 32 games.
We would now take a look at the 3 reasons why United lost last night’s match:
#1. Playing too many long passes and conceding possession easily:
United were guilty of conceding possession too easily at times by playing too many long through balls from inside their own half and giving the ball away too easily in the process. They should have adopted a more cautious approach, especially after scoring the goal. The Red Devils should have tried to retain possession for longer durations, and not allow Wolves to build-up attacks easily.
United started with McTominay, Paul Pogba and Fred in central midfield, and missed the experience of Nemanja Matic and Ander Herrera. Both McTominay and Fred are inexperienced and therefore, did not curb their attacking instincts when the situation demanded so. Ashley Young also played quite a few long passes to the United forwards from inside his own half.
McTominay, however, scored a wonderful goal, his first for United, with a 25-yard scorcher. He has been impressive in the last few matches for United and seems to have a great future ahead of himself. Fred, on the other hand, was somewhat responsible for Wolves’ first goal and did not have a great outing.
Fred had also conceded a soft penalty in United’s 0-2 loss to Arsenal in March and should work on the defensive aspects of his game. However, the bottom line remains that United should have slowed the pace of the game after having scored the opening goal, and should not have allowed Wolves to come back into the match easily. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer should be disappointed as his players let their oppositions off the hook last night.
#2 Raul Jimenez playing superbly for Wolves:
Jimenez, Wolves’ summer signing from Benfica, has been one of the most impressive players in the Premier League so far this season. He already has 12 goals and 7 assists to his name, and those numbers should go further up in the coming matches.
He was very impressive last night and troubled the United defenders a lot with his incisive runs and intelligent passing. His pass to Diogo led to the opening goal for Wolves. He was also involved in the second goal as Smalling failed to clear his header from inside the box and ended up scoring an own goal.
Jimenez looked like a proper No. 9 with his predatory movements inside the final third as he always looked to trouble the United defenders. His signing now seems to be the best bit of summer business by Wolves, who are one of the most attractive teams to watch in the Premier League this season.
#3. Missing Victor Lindelof in the central defence:
United missed Victor Lindelof, their most consistent defender this season, with the Sweden international not playing last night. Smalling is on the wrong side of 30 and is usually not at his best in penalty box melees. His scrambled and clumsy clearing led to the winning goal for Wolves as the other United defenders looked on helplessly.
Phil Jones put up a spirited display last night, but could not prevent the shocking defeat. Moreover, United's defence was at fault for Wolves’ opening goal too as Diogo ran in through the gap between two defenders before finding the back of the net.
The Red Devils had conceded a goal against Watford in a similar fashion last weekend. The United defenders hesitated in attacking the ball and preferred to stay in their own positions as Diogo found his was into their penalty box. Solskjaer would have to work on those defensive aspects and encourage his defenders to go for the ball quickly inside the defensive third.
United’s cause was not helped by Young’s omission in the 57th minute either. The 33-year-old Young was sent off for a clumsy challenge, and Wolves exploited their man-advantage to great effect. Moreover, United would be deprived of Young's services in the next match too.
