Wolves 2-1 Manchester United: 5 men who cost United the game

#4 Chris Smalling

Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United - FA Cup Quarter Final

The Englishman has looked good of late and got his preferred partner, Victor Lindelof back for the game. He started in a back five, but looked nervous right from the beginning of the game. Against the speed and trickery of the Wolves frontmen, Smalling was hardly a dominant force in the back for United.

Every time Wolves came knocking, the United defense looked like conceding. This was because Smalling failed to close down the Wolves forwards and left a lot of open spaces in the back. He was culpable for the first goal, when he failed to track Jota’s run from outside the box and instead tried to close down Jimenez even though Lindelof was stationed to do the job.

After Young got his marching orders, Smalling failed to gather his team around and marshal his defense. United’s defending in set pieces was especially poor and Smalling ended the game with an own goal to his name.

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Edited by Arvind Sriram