5 takeaways from Manchester United's home draw with Wolves

Manchester United were held to a lacklustre home draw with newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers on a windy afternoon at Old Trafford on September 22, 2018.

United's legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson returned to the director's box for the first time since he underwent brain surgery, but will have been disappointed by what he witnessed from his former team.

After the match, current United boss, Jose Mourinho questioned his side's attitude and praised the opponent's approach to the game.

Quite, why United's players could not gear themselves up appropriately for a home Premier League match is an extremely worrying point to ponder.

Prior to this match, it appeared United's early season wobble was behind them after embarrassing reverses versus Brighton and Tottenham Hotspur. Three consecutive away wins in all competitions against Burnley, Watford and Young Boys looked to have turned the tide but the draw against Wolves and the manner of it has placed United firmly back at square one.

Wolves started the brighter of the two teams with more pressure on the ball than the home side and United had David de Gea to thank for not falling behind.

United could count themselves fortunate that they were the ones to take the lead after a clever move from Paul Pogba and neat finish by Fred.

However, Wolves ended the first half more brightly and began the second in exactly the same vein. They put United's defence under increased pressure and after 57 minutes, the lively Joao Moutinho equalised with a stunning strike that even the impressive de Gea could not keep out.

United did have the better of the final exchanges but could not carve out any clear opportunities and it will be seen as two points lost rather than one gained.

This slideshow looks at five of the key takeaways coming out of the match.

#5 Alexis Sanchez was lucky to start

Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League — Alexis Sanchez (centre) celebrates Fred's goal

Alexis Sanchez was rested for the mid-week 3-0 victory over Young Boys in the Champions League with Anthony Martial deputising and impressing with a goal in the European encounter.

United would have benefited from Martial's directness earlier in the game as Sanchez put forward one of his worst performances in recent memory.

Wasteful in possession with an awful final ball, many promising United attacks ended as soon as the ball reached Sanchez.

The Old Trafford crowd cheered his substitution in the second half. Despite playing in his favoured position at United, Sanchez has not delivered anywhere near the world class performance levels he displayed at Arsenal and Barcelona.

#4 Fred should be a regular first-teamer

Fred was Manchester United's only significant signing of the summer transfer window at a cost of £52 million.

After starting the first few games of the season, Fred was dropped from the United line-up only to be restored for the Wolves match.

Fred showed what the United team had missed in his absence. Smart, neat and tidy in possession and always looking for the forward pass as well as tracking back with interceptions and tackles whenever United were without the ball. It was an impressive performance.

Fred thoroughly deserved his goal which he took brilliantly when the ball was skillfully held up by Pogba as Fred smashed the ball first time into the bottom corner of the goal, as it fell into his path.

Receiving a standing ovation when he was substituted, Fred was one of the few bright spots in United's performance. He must start every game.

#3 Luke Shaw is still United's first choice Left Back

Such has been Luke Shaw's stop-start Manchester United career, he will have been forgiven for worrying what the cost of his devastating concussion versus Spain while on England duty could have been.

Thankfully for Shaw, United manager, Jose Mourinho has been so impressed with his early season form, that as soon as Shaw was healthy enough to be re-introduced to the starting line-up, he was.

Shaw, as he has been so regularly this season was one of United's stand out performers. Rock solid in defence and one of United's better outlets going forward when the midfield was often static, Shaw proved that he is number one for the team in his position.

Although his end product could be improved as well as his reading of the game when going forward, it will, if he starts every week.

#2 United's early season wobble is not over

A three game winning run in all competitions in consecutive away games had cleared the gloom that was threatening to engulf Old Trafford after the 2-1 and 3-0 reverses against Brighton and Tottenham respectively.

However, the wins versus Burnley, Watford and Young Boys are now all but forgotten as the sterile, disjointed and disorganised play returned with a vengeance against Wolves.

In truth, United just never looked up for the game, whether it be due to over-confidence or another issue.

Regardless of the reasons, Football like this will not bring success to the club and United face a very long season if manager, Jose Mourinho cannot address the underlying cause of his team's lack of creation and fight.

#1 Title race is already a tall order

The season is only six games old, but after the 1-1 draw with Wolves, United already sit a massive eight points of top spot.

At this stage, United look nothing like title contenders and are a far inferior side to current league leaders, Liverpool, a fact that does not sit well with the United support, given the club's long-standing rivalry with the Merseyside club.

Liverpool are everything United are not at this point in time; expansive, organised, creative and defensively sound as well as hugely entertaining.

United have a lot of work to do to form their own identity as a team before they can even hope to compete at the top.

Last season's second placed finish suddenly seems like an incredible achievement; just like Jose Mourinho claimed at the time.