Wolves 2-1 Manchester United: 5 reasons why the Red Devils lost the game | FA Cup 2018-19
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer headed to the Molineux Stadium on Saturday knowing very well that they cannot afford to lose two games in a row. The Red Devils were coming off a defeat against Arsenal that had ended Solskjaer's unbeaten run in the league.
They had slipped down to 5th, with Chelsea close at their heels. And on Friday, the Norwegian had learned that United would be facing old foes Barcelona in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Norwegian also knew that Wolves were extremely dangerous at home and as such, named his team accordingly. Solskjaer started with Romero in goal, with Dalot, Lindelof, Smalling, and Shaw making up the back four.
Ander Herrera returned from injury to partner Matic and Pogba in the midfield, while the front three had a familiar feeling - Lingard, Rashford, and Martial.
Both sides started the game carefully and it took a little time for the tie to come to life. Even though both sides came close to scoring, the first half ended 0-0. However, Wolves scored twice in the second half to stun the away side. Marcus Rashford got one back for United in the dying minutes of the game, but United succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to exit the FA Cup.
Solskjaer has now lost two back to back games for the first time in his tenure as United manager and here are 5 reasons why Manchester United lost the game.
#5 Granting space to the opposition
At the start of the game, United kept possession, held on to the ball a tad longer and invited Wolves to come on to them. This allowed Wolves to gain in confidence.
There was no closing down in the middle as the home team was afforded far more space around the United box and the United midfielders were slow on the night. Wolves enjoyed the spaces left open by United and slowly took control of the match.
After the first goal, United threw everyone forward with the hopes of finding the equalizer. This opened up even more space for the home side to pushing United on the counter. It was exactly how Wolves scored the second goal.