Rúben Amorim secured his biggest win this season as Manchester United put four past Wolverhampton Wanderers in a Premier League tie on Monday evening.
Rúben Amorim chose to reinstate Mason Mount in the front three as Manchester United travelled to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on a Monday night kick-off.
The tie started with the Reds immediately on top. After 20 minutes of domination, Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring after some fantastic Matheus Cunha pressing, although it was far from a smooth finish.
Bryan Mbeumo, Cunha, and Amad then all came close in quick succession, but it was the home side who struck next, with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde netting an equaliser – Wolves’ first Premier League goal in over eight hours – just before half-time.
With no changes for either side at the start of the second half, United started with much more gusto, and it did not take long for Mbeumo to reinstate United’s lead with a tidy finish. Soon after, Mason Mount doubled the advantage following a brilliant assist from Fernandes.
United then won a penalty with ten minutes to play, which was coolly dispatched by Fernandes to secure the club’s biggest win of the season so far and move the club to sixth in the league table.
#1 – United strike little initial fear into teams
In days past, United are a side who would strike fear into the heart of anyone who lined up against them. More often than not, the game was over before it started.
But, with Amorim’s Reds, they present a few chances to every single team in the world to gain confidence and get themselves back into the game, and this was clearly on show against Wolves.
After going 1-0 up, a respectable side would lock down the midfield, force Wolves to play risky passes, and pick them apart. But United, due to the number of gaps in Amorim’s formation, handed Rob Edwards’ men every reason not to fear them, and they took advantage.
Even though a good second-half display rescued the result, it’s hard to get past what happened in the first half.
#2 – As has always been, the midfield is the core problem
Against Wolves, the clearest problem that was staring Amorim and all those watching in the face was the midfield. Wolves have been so poor all season in the middle of the park, but against United, just a few passes would completely evade Fernandes and Casemiro.
No matter how well United play around the midfield and out wide, it’s impossible to escape the fact that United’s midfield leaves a barn door open for any opposition to enter, at any time.
With United cruising after Mbeumo and Mount’s goals, Wolves pretty much gave up on any chance of redemption, handing the Reds a win. But when the going gets tough, there is still plenty to leave fans on edge.
#3 – A fantastic second half still can’t make up for the first
United were excellent in the second 45 minutes. Whatever the United boss said to his squad in the changing room worked.
Mbeumo, Cunha, Fernandes, and Mount all looked much sharper, but no matter how good they played, it was hard not to remain discouraged about just how lacklustre and disjointed the Reds were.
The midfield still looks far too exposed; there were a whole host of sloppy passes and miscommunications, and core concerns remain.
#4 – Another fixture with minimum Academy involvement
The fixture against Wolves was the 17th Premier League match in a row in which Amorim failed to name a single United Academy graduate in his starting XI. Although 19-year-old Heaven played for about 70 minutes, he’s a graduate of Arsenal’s Academy.
Read More: Player Ratings – Wolves 1-4 Manchester United (Premier League)
Even with United 3-1 up with 20 minutes to play, Amorim’s first two substitutions were to see centre-backs Lisandro Martínez and Leny Yoro on the pitch, with Kobbie Mainoo and Shea Lacey remaining on the bench.
It took until the 78th minute for Mainoo to join the fray, much to the delight of travelling fans, whose exuberant cheers no doubt were being used to make a point to Amorim about the 20-year-old’s lack of minutes this season.
What might be worse is that, despite the game being so far out of sight, there was still no remote notion of 18-year-old Shea Lacey coming off the bench.
#5 – Three points, but many questions remain
To a certain extent, United were lucky that they were playing one of the worst sides the Premier League has ever seen.
It’s only the second time under Amorim that United have scored four goals in 90 minutes, but there are still so many questions about whether this team can put together a good performance for a full 90 minutes.
United will have a week to work on themselves before the club’s next play, welcoming Bournemouth to Old Trafford. If they want to secure back-to-back wins, they need to put in a much-improved performance.
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