Wolves 2-1 Manchester United: 5 causes of United's shocking defeat
At the end of the full-time whistle, Manchester United cut a sorry figure on the field. They had missed a glorious opportunity to go third in the table and keep the pressure on their rivals. Instead, United stayed 5th and were in danger of dropping further down to 6th if Chelsea win their game against Brighton.
It was a night to forget for Solskjaer, who has now lost 3 of his last 4 games in all competitions. The confirmation of his appointment means that there’s no immediate danger to his job, but against Wolves, the Norwegian had a reality check.
The performance was one of the worst since he took charge. United started the game well and even scored the opening goal. Scott McTominay received the ball from Fred at the edge of the opposition box and unleashed a low volley past Patricio in goal to give his team the lead. However, Wolves came back through Jota in the 25th minute. Young’s Red Card in the 57th minute jeopardized things. United conceded through a Smalling own goal in the 77th minute to surrender all three points.
While Solskjaer will be worried by the lost ground in the race to secure the Champions League places, he will be far from impressed by his team’s performance. Against Wolves, Manchester United were the cause of their own downfall and here are 5 reasons why they lost the game.
#5 Team selection
Manchester United played Watford on Saturday in a highly intense game and it is understandable that United were drained from the experience. And Solskjaer had to rest quite a few of his key players who picked up knocks. Herrera and Rashford were injured, while Martial could only make the bench.
Solskjaer opted for McTominay and Fred to partner Pogba in the midfield, but United missed Herrera's energy and Matic's calm on the night. The defense also missed the two experienced campaigners and a lack of shield was evident.
Lukaku and Lingard started the attack and were very poor. United lacked precision in the final third the whole night. Had Martial and Rashford been fit, United might have been 3-0 up by the 25th minute. Ultimately, United failed to cope with the absence of key players and lost the game.