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Ole Gunnar Solskjaer headed to the Molineux Stadium on Saturday knowing very well that they cannot afford to lose two games in a row. The Red Devils were coming off a defeat against Arsenal that had ended Solskjaer's unbeaten run in the league.
They had slipped down to 5th, with Chelsea close at their heels. And on Friday, the Norwegian had learned that United would be facing old foes Barcelona in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.
The Norwegian also knew that Wolves were extremely dangerous at home and as such, named his team accordingly. Solskjaer started with Romero in goal, with Dalot, Lindelof, Smalling, and Shaw making up the back four.
Ander Herrera returned from injury to partner Matic and Pogba in the midfield, while the front three had a familiar feeling - Lingard, Rashford, and Martial.
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Both sides started the game carefully and it took a little time for the tie to come to life. Even though both sides came close to scoring, the first half ended 0-0. However, Wolves scored twice in the second half to stun the away side. Marcus Rashford got one back for United in the dying minutes of the game, but United succumbed to a 2-1 defeat to exit the FA Cup.
Solskjaer has now lost two back to back games for the first time in his tenure as United manager and here are 5 reasons why Manchester United lost the game.
#5 Granting space to the opposition
At the start of the game, United kept possession, held on to the ball a tad longer and invited Wolves to come on to them. This allowed Wolves to gain in confidence.
There was no closing down in the middle as the home team was afforded far more space around the United box and the United midfielders were slow on the night. Wolves enjoyed the spaces left open by United and slowly took control of the match.
After the first goal, United threw everyone forward with the hopes of finding the equalizer. This opened up even more space for the home side to pushing United on the counter. It was exactly how Wolves scored the second goal.
#4 Not creating enough chances
United normally play with Matic as the deepest midfielder, the anchor who holds the team together and marshals the defense. Against Wolves, Solskjaer retained Herrera to a deeper role, perhaps wary of the threat possessed by the Wolves midfielders.
With two men sitting in the middle, United had a degree of security in the first half in the middle, but it hampered their attacking play. United rarely created any chances in the game and the final ball was always missing. Even though Dalot was pushed forward, the young Portuguese hardly had any impact on the game. But perhaps the biggest miss of the night was Paul Pogba.
The Frenchman looked lively at the start but had an off day on the pitch. He failed to track the forward runs of his attacking players, hardly created any chances and looked tired and uninspired. Luke Shaw did carve out a chance for Rashford to score but it was too little too late.
#3 Deviating from Counter Attacking tactics
Most of the success that Solskjaer achieved in his short tenure at Manchester United was by sticking to a fast, counter-attacking style of play. Against Wolves, Solskjaer had the personnel to play similar football but failed to stick to the plan.
Wolves piled up the numbers in the middle and left spaces open in the wings. The Norwegian could have tweaked his tactics to take advantage of the situation but was slow to react. Wolves regularly came forward in search of a goal and left open spaces for United to exploit.
Sadly, the away side were too slow and took too much time on the ball. This allowed Wolves to get bodies back quickly and the home side was able to close down the gaps.
United’s passing was also poor on the night, as the away side lacked the final ball, which meant that counter attacks fell short due to lack of speed and precision. This ultimately cost them the game.
#2 Poor defending
United were not particularly threatened on the night in the first half and apart from two stellar Romero saves, the defense had it comfortable right until the first goal. It all started after Moutinho was allowed to run into the penalty area as Dalot was probably a little too slow to close him down.
But even after that, United did manage to close out Jimenez. How the Mexican still found the time and space to make a turn and finish will baffle Solskjaer.
But even after the first goal, United still looked to be in the game, until a counter-attack went wrong. When Andreas Pereira’s ball was cleared, Shaw had the time to whip it back in. The Englishman’s hit was a tad weak and it initiated a Wolves counter. Shaw was on course to attend to it but slipped and allowed the home side to score an easy goal.
United’s poor defending ultimately cost them the game, as conceding late goals left them with little time to mount a comeback.
#1 Lacking goal-scoring instincts
Perhaps Romelu Lukaku would have helped United be more aggressive in the final third. The Belgian has been brilliant of late and had been on a fine goalscoring run before picking up an injury that ruled him out of the game. In his absence, the other men in the team failed to take up the responsibilities.
Lingard was lively but lacked full fitness. Martial was quite effective in the left-hand side and his combination with Luke Shaw had Wolves worried. But the Frenchman seemed to have left his shooting boots back home. Marcus Rashford was inspired, shooting with confidence from various areas of the pitch and also scored a goal, but none of the front three had the presence in the box that could trouble the home team.
United lacked a proper No. 9 on the night, a target man to aim crosses at. Even the midfielders failed to have an impact, as neither of Pogba, Herrera, and Matic could muster a shot on target. United had to pay the price and are now out of the FA Cup.
