Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 Manchester United: 5 Talking Points & Tactical Analysis | FA Cup 2018-19

#2 Old habits come back to haunt United players

A frustrating night for Anthony Martial

One of the major reasons for United’s inconsistency under Mourinho was the fact that the players were far too inconsistent during such games and hence that somehow held the team from putting a stretch of good collective performances.

Two of the major culprits here were Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba, who were simply mundane and apathetic in their displays. Martial returned back from an injury and was actually invisible throughout the duration of the match; meaning, he hardly had any significant contribution.

The Frenchman went missing on certain crucial moments, looking uninterested at times and that had a big impact on the overall lack of cohesion and drive in the final third.

Pogba was playing a bit deeper than usual but that shouldn’t be an excuse for him being unable to assert at least some control over the game. He conceded possession far too complacently, hardly ever made the effort to recoup the ball from the opposition.

Complacency has been major vices of both these Frenchmen and the sooner they get rid of it completely, the better it would be for the overall fortunes of the team. United’s squad depth is not the best and hence they cannot afford their star players going awry in such important matches.

Rashford might have notched a late goal but even he looked far too hurried with the ball at times, thereby contributing to the worst cumulative performance for Manchester United in Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s tenure so far.