Woeful Manchester United got out of jail against Wolves, which should worry Ten Hag
Manchester United appear to have entered into the new season with a lot of their old habits from the previous one. Outside Old Trafford on Monday (August 14) evening, thousands of fans gathered to protest against the Glazers before kick-off.
Another group converged away from the Stretford End to register their displeasure with Mason Greenwood’s possible return to the senior squad after his rape and assault charges were dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service.
However, when everything returned to normalcy and it went down to business inside the stadium, Manchester United could not produce the goods. That was much to the dismay of over 75,000 fans who trooped to watch the Red Devils' opening Premier League game.
Against a Wolverhampton Wanderers side that had lost several key players and had a new manager just three days prior, the Reds struggled for large spells and laboured to a 1-0 win, thanks to Raphael Varane's winner.
Manchester United were lucky against Wolves
After the false start to the last season that saw Manchester United lose their opening two games against Brighton and Brentford, Erik ten Hag’s side were expected to make a more convincing start to their 2023-24 campaign.
However, their performance was far from that. The Red Devi;s were largely disjointed and couldn’t control the game despite a busy summer of spending across positions.
Raphael Varane’s lone goal eventaully separated the two teams, but Wolves were the more dangerous side, creating the better chances and having more shots on target than the hosts (5 against 2).
If anything, Manchester United were very lucky not to have lost the game, with Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Pablo Sarabia spurning glorious opportunities with the goal at their mercy. Moreover, they survived a contentious non-penalty call right at the death.
United’s performance should have Ten Hag worried
The arrivals of Andre Onana, Mason Mount and Rasmus Hojlund (who is currently not available due to injury) were supposed to make the team more vibrant, but very little has changed.
Just like last season, the Red Devils continue to be lethargic off the ball and lack poise when they gain possession. Ten Hag has often highlighted the importance of controlling games, but how his team fared against Wolves was worrying.
Martin O’Neal’s side isn’t even among the most threatening in the Premier League. However, they carved Manchester United open several times on Monday, which leaves so much to be desired.
“It can be better. We can play better. But we're very pleased with the win. The opposition were dynamic,” Ten Hag said after the game, as quoted by Eurosport.
“We have to match that. We had to fight for our points. There is no easy game in the Premier League and definitely not Wolves. They're a tough team, and we did really well. You have to fight in every game. We hope we'll be better on the ball in the next game.”
It was important that Manchester United opened the season with three points, but their performance against Wolves was nothing to write home about. They won’t be tht lucky in subsequent games against opponents that take their chances.