Manchester United fans felt eager to deliver the perfect revenge against Wolves for the troubles of past seasons, but left Molineux with unfinished business as the points were shared between the two clubs. Following a triumphant display of a 4-0 victory over rivals Chelsea last week, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men looked ready to take home all three points in the 1st half, only to rue over missed opportunities and concede a well-taken goal from Ruben Nevez to be denied all three points. Despite taking four (4) points out of a possible six (6), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men continued to show signs of both positive growth and frailties of developing a young squad.
Ladies and Gentlemen, We Have a Right Back
In terms of experience, Aaron Wan-Bissaka only has one full Premier League season under Roy Hodgson at Crystal Palace, but make no mistake – he is our new, No. 1 choice right back without question. His pre-season performances against Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur were inspiring and left fans feeling optimistic, but it’s also a pleasant surprise to see Wan-Bissaka continuing to outshine the rest as the season kicks into full swing.
Wolves manager Nuno made the most out of his team last season by threatening United (as well as the rest of the top six teams) with composed, fluid counter-attacking transitions on the break, which especially dismantled United’s under-performing backline. However, against Wolves, Wan-Bissaka won the most tackles (9/10), of which seven (7) were made in the defensive half of the pitch. Moreover, Wan-Bissaka completed 27/38 passes in the final third, an offensive contribution that must not be overshadowed by his amazing defensive work. Yes, we’re two games in with real tests coming up, but seeing a natural, quality right-back contributing as well as Wan-Bissaka is the breath of fresh air that we all needed. There is more to come from our young defender, and that is just wonderful.
Jesse Lingard’s Ultimatum Season
Before I begin to write criticism about Jesse Lingard’s performance, I’d like to state that the statistic about Jesse Lingard’s Premier League goal/assist drought is slightly unfair. His performances for United might bring mixed emotions for fans, but there have been times when his contributions come from performances without the goal/assist tally being struck on the stats board. For instance, against Chelsea, his movement off-the-ball played a crucial role in forcing Chelsea to lose possession, as players like Cesar Azpilicueta lost possession 22 times alone in the entire match. Furthermore, he played a key role in creating the first goal which Antony Martial dispatched in the 1st half against Wolves, playing tight passes in the final 3rd with Rashford who eventually provided the assist.
However, as credit is given when it’s due, criticism should also be delivered justly. Bar the single key contribution for the only United goal that evening, Jesse Lingard was nowhere to be seen throughout much of the match. His underwhelming performances are usually connected with key words such as “invisible”, “lacking” and “nothing”. Fans adore club-grown players such as Jesse Lingard, but as a 27-year old player and senior figure at Manchester United, his status as a local “lad” always seems to cover his underwhelming performances. This cannot continue. The season is still anew, but if his performances continue to be lacking as we saw against Wolves, questions regarding his career at Manchester United will definitely be raised come the end of the season.
United’s Depth is a Worry
Manchester United had quite a busy summer during this transfer market, but the match against Wolves clearly showed that the players who have left Old Trafford have not been replaced. United have always, always struggled with the word “replacement”, as fans can attest to the signing of Michael Owen and Antonio Valencia following the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo, and much recently United not finding adequate replacements for the departures of Ander Herrera and Marouane Fellaini. While players like Mason Greenwood, Andreas Pereira and Axel Tuanzebe are filled with potential in terms of the level of quality they may reach as players once they begin to peak, United should not be pressured into relying on youngsters, as well as an aging Juan Mata, to play the impact-player roles off the bench when chasing a game or finding a winner. Perhaps judging Mata, Greenwood and Pereira for their lack of contribution during their less-than-10-minute time on the pitch might be unfair, but to go an entire season with options as thin as these might be costly for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. We trust in Ole and these young players to provide the club with every ounce of their efforts this season, but one cannot say of the fiasco that is the Premier League perhaps might be too big of a challenge to these young lads.
United Must Prioritize Control and Composure
The story of Manchester United last season might best be summed up as “a tale of two halves”, wherein a dominating first half performance from Manchester United almost always seemed to be dismissed by an abysmal performance in the latter half. While United have made positive strides in the opening two games of the season by encouraging fans with an identity and a pressing style of play, conceding a goal against a well-taken strike from Nevez is still a sign that a clear-cut, composed finishing act from Manchester United is still yet to be found. Our players are young and lacking in experience, but the healthy balance in quality in our current XI should be enough to find a better method of finishing out games, and rid United of this “tale-esque” dilemma.
Paul Pogba Should Not be a Scapegoat
Paul Pogba was brought down by Conor Coady in the 2nd half following Nevez’ equalizer and won United a penalty that would provide the opportunity to re-gain the lead against a resurging Wolves side who seemed to grab momentum by the scruff of the neck. However, unbeknownst to all parties involved, it was the Frenchman who decided to step up for the penalty, rather than Marcus Rashford, who scored a thumping penalty against Chelsea just last week.
And as the story goes – Pogba’s penalty, though a decent attempt, is saved by Rui Patricio. The game ends in a 1-1 draw, and social media erupts in an all-out hate brigade against Pogba for “deciding to take the penalty off of Marcus Rashford”. Surprisingly, United legend and Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville went on a heated, helium-filled rant during his post-match show, lambasting Pogba for “taking the penalty” away from Rashford and berating Manchester United for “lacking in leadership”. Neville justified these comments by calling Pogba “typical” and “selfish”, discussing a missed penalty for approximately twenty minutes.
I have the utmost respect for Gary Neville, but his comments were completely unjust and unwarranted. As Solskjaer mentioned during his post-match interview, the decision to take the penalty rests solely in the hands of Rashford and Pogba, of which can take the penalty depending on their level of confidence. While I might not agree with this method of selecting penalty takers, one cannot blame Pogba for wanting to take the penalty, and one cannot fault Rashford for letting him take it. Many have described the situation as biased, claiming that Neville would not have made the same comments about his miss had Rashford missed the penalty. This comment might not be as valid given that Neville would not have called Rashford “typical” or “selfish”, but to berate a player for having the confidence to take the penalty is insane and leaves many fans dumbfounded. This fiasco continued until the morning after, generating comments of racism and hate across social media platforms before Manchester United released a statement denouncing such disgusting acts against Pogba.
A miss is a miss, and it is unfair to blame Paul Pogba for wanting to take it. End of discussion.