Wolves 2-1 Manchester United: 4 Men who flopped for Solskjaer

Modified Apr 03, 2019 01:00 GMT

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United - Premier League

Manchester United was beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-1 at the Molineux Stadium for the second time in three weeks. For Manchester United, the goal was scored by Scott McTominay and for Wolves, the goal was scored by Diogo Jota and the second one was an own goal by Chris Smalling.

The first half of the match saw Manchester United in complete control as they created numerous opportunities. Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard missed a few easy opportunities and Scott McTominay gave Manchester United the lead with a low drive past Rui Patricio. United allowed Wolves back into the game after a bit sloppy work by Fred in the middle of the park.

The second half of the match saw Manchester United dominate possession in the early parts and McTominay came close for the Red Devils with his header being brilliantly saved by Patricio. Ashley Young then got sent off for after receiving a second yellow card and after that United had an uphill task.

Chris Smalling's own goal meant that Manchester United remain out of the top 4 and this is a huge blow to Solskjaer's men in their hopes of getting Champions League football next season.

In this slideshow, we take a look at the players who flopped for Solskjaer.

#4 Paul Pogba

Paul Pogba has enjoyed a brilliant run of form for Manchester United since Solskjaer took over but over the last couple of games, he has looked somewhat lost for the Red Devils. He had an average performance against Watford and this performance against Wolves was again disappointing.

The Frenchman is United's talisman and his inconsistency was again on display. He was dominated by Joao Moutinho and Ruben Neves in the middle of the park and he just wasn't able to pull the strings for United. The Frenchman needs to pick his form up as these kinds of performances are just not good enough from a player of his quality.

#3 Chris Smalling

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United - Premier League, Smalling let United down on the night

The Hero from the last game, the villain in this one. This match was again a showcase of just how badly Manchester United need a top quality center back next season. Smalling had his worst performance under Solskjaer against Wolves.

He was awful with the ball at his feet and Raul Jimenez absolutely bossed him for the entirety of the match. The Englishman also scored Wolves winner and he could have done better than that.

It was a very sloppy goal to concede as it was simple cross in the box which should have been dealt with easily, but Smalling's recklessness caused the ball to roll into the back of the net. Chris Smalling needs to bring some sort of consistency into his game and has to cut out on his mistakes.

#2 Ashley Young

Ashley Young's performances have been consistently poor for Manchester United, especially for the last couple of weeks. He was poor against Watford and he was poor again against Wolves as well.

He earned two yellow cards in the space of five minutes and was sent off, which left 10-men United with an uphill task. The second yellow card was very reckless on Young's part as he dived in with his studs up and caught Jota. This is something that you don't expect from an experienced player who has played so many games for United.

#1 Fred

Fred came into this game as Solskjaer decided to rest Nemanja Matic and he operated as the number 6 for most of the game. He assisted Manchester United's only goal but his contribution at the other end is something in question. His bad touch after receiving the ball from David de Gea in the United half led to Woves' first goal.

The Brazilian looked very sharp for the first 20-30 minutes, but after that, he was bossed by Ruben Neves for the whole match. Manchester United have spent some big bucks to acquire the services of the Brazilian and so far he has done nothing to justify his price tag.

Edited by Sujith M