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Manchester United suffered a huge dent in their top four hopes as they were beaten by a brilliant Wolves side for the second time in two weeks. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made 4 changes from the side that lost in the FA Cup quarter-final last month with Scott Mctominey and Fred replacing Ander Herrera and Nemanja Matic in midfield while Romelu Lukaku replaced injured Marcus Rashford up front.
The Red Devils started the game on a much higher tempo than they did on their previous visit to the Molineux and looked much slick in possession. Romelu Lukaku was presented with the first opportunity to open the scoring from a brilliant cross by Diego Dalot but his header was matched by Wolves goalkeeper Rui Patricio. Manchester United's dominance paid off when Scott Mctominey's strike from outside the box ended up in the bottom corner.
Ole Gunnar Solksjaer's men continued with the same intensity and created numerous gilt-edged opportunities to score. But a mistake by Fred cost them the lead, who lost the ball in the defensive third and Diogo Jota successfully capitalised on the mistake. Manchester United was pushed back into its shell and struggled to keep hold of the ball for the remaining of the first half.
They started the second half with a similar intensity with which they started the first. Scott Mctominey had the opportunity to score his second of the game but was again denied by a brilliant save by the Wolves goalkeeper. The turning point of the game was the sending off of Ashley Young in the 57th minute after securing a second yellow card.
Wolves utilised their numerical advantage to keep hold of the ball and dominate the game. Their dominance paid off when a cross which was poorly defended from a corner was scrambled in his own net by Chris Smalling in the 77th minute.
Manchester United suffered their 3rd defeat in their last 5 games and here are 3 things we learned from the game:
#1 Missed chances cost Manchester United the game
Many would blame Fred's mistake at the back or Ashley Young for conceding a silly second yellow card for Manchester United's demise at the Molineux, but missed chances in front of goal are what cost them the game in the first place.
They had numerous opportunities to score 2-3 goals and had a grip on the game in the first half but failed to take them. If they had been as clinical as they were at the weekend against Watford, the scoreline would have been a lot different and the strikers need to take the blame for themselves for the result.
#2 The red card came at the worst moment for Manchester United
Ashley Young is Manchester United's senior-most player and the 33-year old has a plethora of experience at the highest level. But his decision to plunge into a challenge after being booked just minutes ago was not the wisest of decisions by the Englishmen.
Manchester United were dominating possession and creating opportunities at the starting of the second half and looked like the side to score the next goal of the game. But then Ashley Young was sent off and Manchester United's momentum died. It became difficult for the Red Devils to keep attacking the way they were as it would have left them exposed to Wolves counter-attack and they had to drop back.
The sending off came at the worst moment of the game for Manchester United and If it weren't for the red card, the scoreline might have been different.
#3 Paul Pogba poor, Scott Mctominey brilliant
Paul Pogba has been under the limelight in the media, but not so on the pitch in recent weeks. The 26-year old started the Solskjaer era with brilliant performances game after game. But his performances have dropped significantly on the pitch and he hasn't helped himself by fueling the speculation linking him with a move away from Manchester United.
He lost the ball on numerous occasions and didn't have any impact on the game at all. On the other hand, his teammate Scott Mctominey delivered a brilliant performance yesterday. He scored his first goal for the senior side but his overall performance was exceptional.
The 22-year old could have scored his second but was denied by a brilliant save. If there is anything positive the Manchester United supports take home from Molineux, it will be Scott Mctominey's performance.
