Man United 1 Wolves 1
Amorim cost United the win. To be honest, I wasn’t confident going into this game after the second half against Newcastle were United basically stuck 11 men behind the ball but even I didn’t forsee a performance that inept of quality from Amorim’s side. I was in disbelief as the players lined up before kickoff when I saw Dorgu revert back to left-wing-back and Dalot on the other side, in combination with Zirkzee on the right channel and a pivot of Casemiro-Ugarte. Clearly Amorim couldn’t help himself and changed the system that has worked so well over the last month or so and it cost United the 3 points tonight. When you thought it couldn’t get any worse Amorim decided to sub off Zirkzee who scored United’s only goal for a teenager who he played out of position on the right-wing, I’d argue that that’s a sackable offence on top of everything else that went wrong in this game.
Is Matheus Cunha ready to lead this United team? With United down to the barebones when it comes to players in the squad the attacking threat in the team has mainly come down to Matheus Cunha in the last few weeks but yet again he failed to deliver when United need him. I said it in the Newcastle review that he needs to release the ball sooner but he keeps on running into defenders over and over again when he has teammates in better positions, he’s obviously a quality footballer but he has to understand that he can’t do everything by himself in this team and trust that his teammates will find him in better positions. He’s one of the few senior attackers that Amorim has at the minute and United are going to need him at his best if they are to pick up any wins before the AFCON boys come back in January at some point.
Wolves best performance of the season. I suppose it’s not saying much but I thought Wolves deserved the win in this match at Old Trafford, if it wasn’t for some top saves from Senne Lammens in the United goal Wolves would have got their first win in unlikely circumstances. The pick of the bunch was probably the 18 year old Mateus Mane who looks a real player and someone Wolves will have trouble keeping a hold of if he keeps up his early performances. I also thought Joao Gomes ran the midfield and was by far the best midfielder on the pitch running rings around Ugarte and Casemiro who were both equally shocking on the ball for most of the game, you’d imagine Gomes will leave in the summer and I wouldn’t be shocked if there was a few clubs looking for his signature as he’s a really solid midfielder.
Amorim once again fails to win back-to-back matches. I suppose it’s not very surprising that United once again fail to win back-to-back matches in the league under Ruben Amorim and it looks like patience is wearing thin in the fan base with the players being booed off at Old Trafford yet again after a miserable performance, it’s becoming a common occurrence for this team to be booed off against the likes of Everton, West-Ham and now Wolves who have taken points at Old Trafford and deservingly so. Amorim can make the argument that he’s missing players but Wolves were missing 9 players tonight through AFCON or injury that might have been starting so it’s no excuse when you’ve got players out on the pitch that you’ve signed for more than the entire Wolves team put together, Amorim has to be accountable for this game and so many others that United should be winning with that squad.
Leeds away for United next. Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse Amorim’s side travel to Elland Road in what could be an absolute bloodbath with United’s current predicament, Leeds are one of the form sides in the league and you’d hope that United can recover at least a couple of players from injury if they’re to compete with Leeds's physicality and energy that will undoubtedly bring if they are to beat United in the league for the first time since 2002. It might also suit this United team to play away from home at the minute as Leeds will come out to attack Amorim’s side which will give United’s attack more space on the counter like in the first half against Newcastle last week. It’s not a game I’m looking forward to on Sunday and I’m sure Daniel Farke smells blood in this United team which is severely lacking in creativity and confidence especially going forward, It’ll be entertaining for the neutral no doubt but it might get nasty for Amorim if his side gets beat badly, we’ll see on Sunday.