Manchester United traveled to Molineux to take on Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Red Devils’ final game of 2022.
Erik ten Hag was eager to build on a brilliant win against Nottingham Forest and use it as a launching pad to end the year on a high note and move past Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League table.
The United manager fielded the same starting eleven as he did against Forest, with the exception of Alejandro Garnacho, who replaced Marcus Rashford.
Ten Hag confirmed that Rashford was ruled out for reasons of “internal discipline” and opted for Garnacho to start in attack alongside Anthony Martial and Antony.
Here are three things we learned from Manchester United’s 1-0 win against Wolverhampton Wanderers
poor first time
Ten Hag’s men were poor in the first half compared to their displays against Burnley and Forest.
The Reds struggled to break down a resilient and stubborn Wolves defense that did well to keep the 20-time English champions at bay.
In midfield, United were dominated by the Wolves trio of Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho and Matheus Nunes. Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes and Christian Eriksen barely made a significant impact in the first 45 minutes, and the Brazilian came closest to fighting back.
United did not create enough chances. The best chance of the time was for Garnacho, who went up one-on-one against Jose Sa, but the Argentine couldn’t deflect the ball from Wolves’ shot.
Towards the end of the first half, Martial also had a golden opportunity in a brilliant cross, but was unable to connect the ball. An offside by Antony couldn’t get past Sa either.
At times United looked defensively vulnerable, causing defenders to present last-minute tackles and blocks.
Several of the players did not show up and seemed devoid of ideas. Wolves were always going to be a tough proposition, but Ten Hag would have been disappointed by some of his stars and horrible performances from him before the break.
Antonio extremely poor again
Against Forest, Antony was United’s poorest attacker by a margin and continued his sub-par performance against Wolves.
Antony lacked threat and most of United’s attacking forays were broken up by the Brazilian. His death was not up to par either.
Antony’s fundamental flaw was on full display against Wolves: the winger’s over-reliance on his left foot.
Opposition defenders on multiple occasions registered Antony’s turnover to his left and blocked this action, effectively neutralizing his influence.
The 22-year-old attacker couldn’t take on his man when the opportunities presented themselves. From a defensive point of view, Antony was also reluctant to back down in cases where any other decent team would have capitalized and punished United.
Ten Hag has a decision to make regarding Antony. Should I continue to play him in poor condition or take him out of the line of fire?
Lack of quality depth remains a major problem
The lack of quality bench options available to Ten Hag was a glaring problem against Wolves.
Apart from Rashford, who replaced Garnacho after the break, the United boss was limited in who he could bring in as an impact replacement.
Ten Hag, for example, had no one to replace Antony. Instead of Martial, Ten Hag signed Donny van de Beek, hardly a striker by any stretch of the imagination.
The absence of a left-footed centre-back also made it necessary to place Shaw back at the heart of the defence.
United should dive into the January transfer window and get a Ten Hag signing or two. The club must reinforce the team and help the manager in his ambition for United to return to the Champions League.
