Manchester United suffered a huge blow in their hopes for a top four finish in the Premier League after losing 2-1 away to Wolves on Tuesday night.
After receiving two bookings within five minutes, Ashley Young was given his marching orders just before the hour mark as the visitors finished with ten men.
United had initially taken the lead through Scott McTominay in the 13th minute but a mistake from Fred saw Raul Jimenez set up Diogo Jota for the equaliser 12 minutes later.
An own goal from Chris Smalling 13 minutes from time sealed United’s fate as they pressed forward for another goal.
Here, we rate the performances of United’s players.
STARTING XI (4-3-3)
David De Gea 5 – Sloppy passes out from the back, one which led to the goal. A couple of decent saves late on.
Ashley Young 3 – Booked for a needless foul on Jota and then a reckless one on the Portuguese saw him sent off in the second half.
Chris Smalling 2 – Some good moments early on were cancelled out by several appalling ones later, including his ‘defending’ for Wolves’ second.
Victor Lindelof 5 – United’s best defender on the night again. Was given little support.
Luke Shaw 5 – Showed plenty of promise going forward but earned a yellow for a tactical foul which suspends him for the next two.
Scott McTominay 7 – Superb effort arrowed into the bottom corner for the opener. Looked lively in midfield, making good runs into the box while tracking back as well.
Fred 5 – Impressed in midfield and was a big part of United’s fine start to the game. Sadly, this performance will be remembered for a crucial error that led to Wolves’ equaliser.
Paul Pogba 3 – Apart from one decent bit of play with Lukaku, the Frenchman was incredibly disappointing, offering little going forward.
Diogo Dalot 6 – Started the game well and Lukaku should’ve buried his early cross. Looked good throughout.
Romelu Lukaku 6 – Always looked like a threat. Set up McTominay and Lingard with crosses and may have had a penalty just before half-time. Should really have scored from a header early on though.
Jesse Lingard 4 – Missed a glorious chance when Lukaku’s cross found him completely unmarked eight yards form goal but his tame header was saved. Anonymous thereafter.
SUBS
Phil Jones (65′) 6 – Did reasonably well when introduced to forge a three-man defence.
Anthony Martial (73′) 5 – His arrival didn’t have the desired effect as there was little space in behind.
Andreas Pereira (84′) N/A – Didn’t have a lot of time to make an impact.
