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Manchester United dropped points in the Premier League yet again, as Wolverhampton Wanderers secured a draw at Old Trafford. Fred, United's latest Brazilian recruit opened the scoring for Jose Mourinho's team.
However, Joao Moutinho pulled a goal back for Wolves in the second half, and they managed to hold on to it until the end of proceedings. Notably, both these goals were against the run of play.
It was a rather open match and United had chances until the final minute to restore the lead. However, Wolves' determination and tenacity was superb and they thwarted every single threat that United's players posed on the field.
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Here are five players who endured completely contrasting fortunes in this match:
Flop: Romelu Lukaku
The Belgian lacked service upfront and was considerably phased out of the game by some diligent defending from Wolves’ backline.
His aerial threat was monitored quite well, but Lukaku was far too immobile and somewhat erratic in possession whenever a situation arose. He messed up a couple of attacking moves when Paul Pogba was moving inside the box and required a final pass from Lukaku.
The Belgian drifted out wide to run at the defenders but his impact was very tactically neutralized by Wolves’ defenders.
His hold up play was dodgy at times and Lukaku hardly moved out of his line to contribute in attacking moves. He was often dispossessed, and did not have the required impact on the game.
Hit: Raul Jimenez
The Mexican forward was impressive right from the beginning as his intelligent movement and pace created space for other players in the centre.
Jimenez is physically dominant and he used this attribute to keep Lindelof engaged. The Swede generally struggles against forwards who use their physicality to trouble the defenders.
Jimenez was proactive in that sense, always opening up spaces through the centre, and even shifting wide while attracting a couple of players towards him. He dropped deeper to help the team win the ball back when they were trying to hold on to a draw.
Overall, Jimenez’s attitude was appreciable as despite not scoring, he managed to carve out a notable impact on the field.
He made two clearances, intercepted and tackled once whilst also registering the assist for Moutinho’s goal.
Flop: Alexis Sanchez
Sanchez lacked the cutting edge as despite dribbling past a couple of players, his product in the final third was very underwhelming.
He started the match poorly too as he crossed the ball inaccurately and lost the possession in this process. Though losing possession is something that is bound to happen when a player is largely involved in the game, Sanchez was poor overall too.
He messed up chances in the final third, could not provide the final pass and his shots failed to test Rui Patricio either.
The Chilean crossed the ball thrice but none of them were accurate and his passing accuracy was merely 69.7%. At a time when United needed his experience and composure in the forward line, Sanchez could not turn up and was substituted for Anthony Martial.
There is a distinctive incisive sharpness that Sanchez is known to possess, but he could not delivery appropriately against the Wolves.
Hit: Paul Pogba
Paul Pogba’s natural class and exquisite talent was visible this evening as the Frenchman was sumptuous whenever he had the possession of the ball.
Barring a couple of moments, he was very composed with the ball and took the correct decisions. United’s gameplay was controlled by him and he was able to manage the tempo of the match, something that he has lacked over the years.
Pogba drove the team forward, earned fouls when necessary, and used his flair to create chances for his teammates too.
His touch and assist for Fred’s goal was sublime, and the way he spread and distributed the play was exemplary at times.
Pogba even tested Patricio with a teasing shot from the long range and tried his best to overturn the result of the match.
He made three key passes and passed the ball to the final third on 42 occasions. He was culpable for Moutinho’s goal, but the rest of Pogba's performance deserves the praise.
Hit: Joao Moutinho
Joao Moutinho combined his defensive and offensive responsibilities very well as he pressed his opponents and regularly looked to run behind United’s backline or take a final shot.
His cohesion with Ruben Neves was quite good as together they continued to find spaces in the midfield and hence surged ahead during counter-attacks or distributed the ball to the flanks.
Moutinho’s tenacity was commendable as he closed down the open spaces near the penalty box and moved the ball up ahead whenever there was an opportunity.
He tackled twice and even provided two key passes in the match. However, his most notable contribution was the equalizer that he scored with his weaker foot despite being in an awkward sliding position.
He maintained the required level of intensity both while defending and on the attacking front.
