Mourinho has no excuse as stagnant Man United are outplayed and outperformed

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  • Manchester United’s three-match winning run in all competitions came to an end upon their return to Old Trafford on Saturday after Joao Moutinho fired in a deserved leveller during Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-1 draw.

    Brazil midfielder Fred expertly fired into the bottom corner for his first Red Devils goal on 18 minutes. France superstar Paul Pogba delivered a cute one-touch assist.

    This came against the run of play – in a Premier League-match watched on by Sir Alex Ferguson for the first time since the legendary former manager’s emergency brain surgery in May – and the promoted visitors got their reward soon after the interval when Portugal veteran Moutinho shot high into Spain No1 David De Gea’s goal. This counter-attack came from a soft concession by Pogba on the halfway line.

    30-SECOND REPORT

    The foundations upon which United’s recovery is built upon seem weaker after this.

    De Gea’s continued brilliance had already denied Mexico striker Raul Jimenez and French centre-back Willy Boly, prior to Fred wonderfully shooting low into the visiting goal.

    United struggled to build any momentum from this point. Wide forwards Jesse Lingard and Alexis Sanchez got nowhere near isolated striker Romelu Lukaku – only they will know if this came from tactical instruction.

    Wolves defended in a deep block, safe in the knowledge their hosts would not force a wedge. Nuno Espirito Santo’s men remained patient and waited for their one golden moment to strike, this duly coming on the counter-attack.

    If substitute Adama Traore’s famously wayward judgement had been better in the dying embers, they could have come away with a first Old Trafford win since 1980. The Spain Under-21 winger twice shot when better options were available.

    THE GOOD

    Let Pogba create – There was an ebullient air about the France superstar’s game that has been missing for much of his Old Trafford-return. All the play flowed through him, although if you were being hypercritical then more than three key passes should have been generated from a leading 123 touches.

    Wolves bravery – Wolves rocketed in 30 attempts last time out in victory against Burnley. Just more than a third of this tally (11) was witnessed at Old Trafford, but this was only four less than the exalted hosts. Santo’s men defended doggedly and then bravely threw numbers forward in transition. They deserved, at least, a point.

    THE BAD

    Jury remains out on Jesse – It is over-simplistic to say Lingard is a player that divides opinion. An objective boiling down of the numbers paints a picture of a man over-promoted as playmaker for club and country. Against Wolves, he made zero key passes from 54 touches and only one of his two attempts were on target – a straightforward 25-yard shot. In 17 matches for United and England since March, he’s got two assists and two goals. No wonder both struggle to provide entertainment.

    Traore’s judgement – A historic result should have been Wolves’. Santo knew what he was getting when Wolves committed a club-record £18 million (Dh86.4m) to land Traore from Middlesbrough last month. The Barcelona youth product’s pace is as raw as his decision making. In approximately 20 minutes on the pitch, two of his three attempts forced saves from De Gea. At least one of these, however, should have been assists for a famous winner. Traore’s tunnel vision is hampering a prospect of real promise.

    FBL-ENG-PR-MAN UTD-WOLVES

    KEY MOMENTS

    7th min CHANCE: Jimenez swivels and lashes a low shot at De Gea.

    16th min CHANCE: Boly is the next man unable to find a way past the Spain shot stopper, who repels his header from a corner.

    18th min GOAL: Against the run of play, Pogba’s ingenious pass rolls into Fred’s path and the summer buy from Shakhtar Donetsk lashes home from 20 yards.

    45th min +2 CHANCE: Portugal No1 Rui Patricio is alert to tip away Fred’s free-kick.

    53rd min GOAL: Pogba loses the ball in the semi-circle. The ball is worked to lively winger Helder Costa, whose low cross is deflected into countryman Ruben Neves’ path. A lay-off to international team-mate Moutinho sees the ball expertly placed into the top corner.

    90th min +1 CHANCE: Replacement Traore stings the fingertips of De Gea.

    TACTICAL TURNING POINT

    Santo sticks to his guns – The reserve goalkeeper for Jose Mourinho’s all-conquering Porto arrived at Old Trafford with plenty of inside knowledge. In other times, and from other coaches, Wolves would have stuck nine men behind the ball and hoped for a set-piece. But the ambition of the promoted club and their coach is much higher than that. Wolves only experienced 36-per-cent possession, but had 57.1 per cent of the attempts on targets (eight to United’s six). This endeavour on the counter received just reward.

    VERDICT

    After stabilising wins on the road at Burnley, Watford and Young Boys, now comes a fresh slice of disappointment for United.

    It was a struggle to generate chances of real quality against opponents – however well resourced – who were in the Championship last season. On days when champions Manchester City and Liverpool unloaded against similar opposition, this result sees the pressure build again on Mourinho.

    The Portuguese has now seen six dropped points from seven Premier League games at Old Trafford against newly-promoted opposition since his May 2016 arrival. Ferguson used to swat these sides away with impunity.

    As for Wolves, they now sit only one point behind United after six games. They are an excellent addition to the competition.

    Santo knows his philosophy – build from deep in a 3-4-2-1 formation and make sure most counter-attacks generate attempts on goal – and sticks to it, regardless of the opposition.

    Both Manchester clubs can feel fortunate – to varying degrees – about coming away with 1-1 draws from meetings against them.

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