Two positives from Manchester United's 2-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers
Manchester United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 in a Premier League match at Old Trafford on Saturday, May 13. Anthony Marital and Alejandro Garnacho scored for United in the first and second halves, respectively. With that win, Manchester United strengthened their chances of a top-four finish, as they now lead fifth-placed Liverpool by four points after 35 matches.
United will have to win at least two out of their remaining three matches to be absolutely sure of qualification in next season's UEFA Champions League. On that note, we will take a look at two positives for Manchester United from the match.
#1 Performances of Antony and Bruno Fernandes
Antony was quite possibly United's best player in the match and also registered an assist. He kept shifting inside repeatedly to make room for Aaron Wan-Bissaka's overlapping runs and made a few effective diagonal runs through the inside-right channel. He also combined well at times with Bruno Fernandes, who played in a truly advanced role.
It was refreshing to see Manchester United having all their 10 outfield players in the opposition half and press hard for a goal. With Casemiro and Christian Eriksen behind him, Fernandes attacked with more freedom and was more involved in the exchanges in the final third.
It was his pass to Antony that led to the first goal. With a little more luck, both of them would have been on the scoring sheet, but were denied by the Wolves' goalkeeper Daniel Bentley. Fernandes then notched up an assist by playing a perfect through pass to Garnacho from a counter attack to seal United's win.
#2 Raphael Varane's calm presence in defense bolstering Manchester United
Raphael Varane could not play in any of United's last seven matches owing to an injury and his return meant that the Red Devils had a well-settled centre-back pairing in the heart of their defence. Varane showed no signs of rustiness before being replaced by Harry Maguire in the 81st minute.
His assuring presence meant that United did not concede any goal. He made up for a few slip-ups by Casemiro and Eriksen. Moreover, Wan-Bissaka's overlaps meant that there was often enough space down the left for Wolves to exploit and the visitors attacked frequently through the left.
However, Varane ensured as the right-sided centre-back that there were no let-offs. Erik ten Hag must be a relieved man to see the veteran French centre-back back in action.