Manchester United 1-1 Wolverhampton: 4 talking points

Manchester United came to Old Trafford after three away victories at Burnley, Watford and Young Boys but could not make it four in a row as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves.

Old Trafford earlier welcomed back Sir Alex Ferguson after his surgery. However, he would not have liked what he saw unfolding in front of him. United looked good in parts but again their consistency or the lack of it let them down yet again.

They failed to create enough chances and were too narrow at times which made defending for Wolves very easy. Fred scored his first goal for United after a sublime touch from Paul Pogba.

Their opponents looked plucky and took their chance well, with Moutinho scoring his first goal for the club in brilliant fashion.

Let's take a look at 5 talking points from the game:

#4 Sanchez has not come good for United

Burnley FC v Manchester United - Premier League

Alexis Sanchez arrived in January as part of a swap deal with Arsenal which involved Henrikh Mkhitaryan going the other way. After 9 months at the club, it is safe to say that the no.7 curse has hit yet another player at Old Trafford.

No one can deny the hard work he puts in but it accounts for very little in United's end product. He epitomises the inconsistency dogging United at the moment. Against Wolves, the Chilean had just one shot, which was blocked.

He made just 2 key passes and had only 51 touches before he was hauled off predictably. Anthony Martial was brought on in his place and while he didn't exactly set the stage on fire, the Frenchman seemed more confident, egged on by his goal in midweek.

#3 United's defence is extremely leaky

Lindelof and Smalling were given several scary moments

The defence has been the Achilles heel for Manchester United ever since the duo of Ferdinand and Vidic retired. Smalling, Jones, Evans, Lindelof, Rojo and Bailly have all been tried out in that position but none have offered any stability save for Bailly but he gets injured far too much.

In fact, Mourinho seems to have settled on Smalling and Lindelof as his trusted pair at the back despite very well knowing that the Ivorian is his best defender. However, the defence still held its own and had the second-best defensive record in the league last season.

However, this time they have started poorly and the cracks only seem to be widening. They have already conceded 9 times in the league, which has them having a goal difference of zero.

Sir Alex Ferguson once said, "Attack wins you matches but defence wins you titles." If United and Mourinho have any ambition of winning trophies, this is the area which needs to be addressed first.

#2 Shaw is evolving into the left-back United need

Shaw had yet another great game

The biggest positive for United this season has certainly been the resurgence of Luke Shaw. Signed in 2014 as a teenage sensation, the Englishman just did not seem to kick on from his injury struggles and apparent laziness.

This season though he has bounced back and how. Known primarily for his attacking play from wing-back and his terrific pace, he showed his defensive side is not bad either. He made 4 clearances, made one successful tackle and won 2 aerial duels.

He also made one noteworthy cross which Fellaini was unable to convert. All-in-all, Shaw seems to be repaying the trust shown in him by Mourinho and United fans will certainly be hoping that they would not have to see Ashley Young at left-back ever again.

#1 Wolves are here to stay

Moutinho scored a screamer to equalize

Wolverhampton Wanderers were one of the founding members of the League and have a lot of history attached to their football. Yet, their time at the topmost tier of English football has been few and far between and only fans older than 20 might even remember their last campaign there.

This time though, they look the real deal. They may not have an expensively-assembled squad but they do have talent in abundance. Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Adama Traore are just some of the names that strike you and they have helped them achieve their best-ever start to a season.

Against United, they never looked under the pump. Old Trafford is intimidating for any team and with the form, their opponents were in, Wolves were expected to be rolled over but they never looked like they would cave in.

They created 10 chances and had 8 shots on target, of which they scored one. They were denied twice in the first half by a superhuman David De Gea and few could argue that they deserved the goal when it finally came.