Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United settled for a draw in Monday’s night Premier League game at Molineux Stadium, bringing to an end Matchweek 2 of the 2019-20 Premier League season. United took the lead in the first half through Anthony Martial and dominated the opening 45 minutes, but the match swung in the home side’s favour in the second half, with Ruben Neves scoring a beautiful goal from the outside of the box.
Paul Pogba missed a penalty in the second half, which could have ended with the game going in United’s favour.
Let’s take a look at 3 things we learnt from Manchester United’s draw vs Wolves.
Manchester United’s central midfield weakness
Manchester United’s midfield of Paul Pogba and Scott McTominay with Jesse Lingard playing ahead of them, had a good first half, as the trio battled and dominated the ball, but things went the other way in the second half. The addition of Adama Traore to the Wolves team in the second half stretched the game, and United lost the stranglehold on the game, which eventually resulted in Wolves scoring the equaliser.
Pogba and McTominay weren’t as effective, with the latter misplacing a few passes, while Lingard did not have influence in attack or defence. This will be a serious worry for manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer as his other options in midfield are Andreas Pereira – who is a bit-part player; Fred, who flopped last season, and Nemanja Matic, who is no longer the player that he was.
Wolves will again take a lot of points off the top 6 this season
Wolves were surprisingly quiet and played far too deep in the first half of the match, but looked reinvigorated in the second half. They are a dangerous team on the counter-attack with the likes of Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez capable of causing most defences a lot of trouble, while midfielder Ruben Neves has become one of the best central midfielders in the league.
They are devastating on the counter, while they also have solid defenders and midfielders who stick to their task to the T. Their only stumbling block could be Europa League, as playing two games a week could test the squad depth and strength.
Manchester United’s defence has improved significantly
In the first half of the game, Manchester United bossed the midfield area, thanks mainly to the defence which played a high line and suffocated Wolves of any space. All four of United’s defenders did well, especially Harry Maguire, who was strong in the tackle, made key interceptions and blocks, and even, at times, drove forward with the ball.
Another summer signing Aaron Wan-Bissaka, also had a very good game at right-back, hardly allowing Wolves left wing-back Jonny, to attack. United’s defence could possibly bail out the weak midfield this season if we are to go by the first two games of the season.