Manchester United 1-1 Wolverhampton: 4 errors that cost United the game

#1 Taking off Sanchez and Fred

Manchester United v Wolverhampton Wanderers - Premier League

Sanchez was due for a big game ahead of Wolves' visit to Old Trafford. And the Chilean had started this game quite well. He effortlessly switched places through the front three, combining equally well with both Shaw and Valencia. He tracked back to retrieve the ball and cover for Shaw.

The Chilean regularly exchanged passes to find pockets of space or create chances. It was from his cross that the ball found its way back to Pogba who set up Fred to score United’s goal. His pace, trickery and upper body strength gave Wolves a tough time in the first half.

He started the second half on the same note, however, Mourinho decided to take him off, put on Martial in his place and shifted Lingard to a number 10 role to accommodate Mata. Perhaps the Portuguese would have been better advised to use Sanchez as the number 10 and take off the pathetic Lingard instead.

It was another error from Mourinho that affected the game poorly. He did understand his mistake and ultimately took off Lingard and put Pereira on, but the damage had already been done.

Fred, on the other hand, had an outstanding first half and scored a beautiful goal. He almost scored his second at the stroke of half-time when his fantastic free-kick was saved very well by Patricio. The Brazilian had been all around the pitch in the first half and excelled in the box to box role.

His turn, touch of pace and ball control was the perfect combination for Pogba’s elegance in the field. Those two worked in tandem, showing uncanny understanding and dictating the game easily. Strangely, Mourinho first shifted him to a deep-lying role and then took him off totally, opting instead to use Fellaini in his role.

Needless to say, the Belgian failed miserably. Fred had been United’s best player in the first half and taking him off saw United lose their edge in midfield. They also lost a tireless worker on the pitch and it was this decision from Mourinho that impacted the game the most and United never managed to recover their way back into the game.