da esoccer bet： It wasn’t perfect, but Manchester United secured three points at Molineux to return to winning ways in the Premier League and gear up for another charge toward Champions League contention.
da fezbet： Bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers crumbled away after the break, and the Red Devils made them pay, with Bruno Fernandes’ brace coming either side of second-half strikes from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount.
The home side might be at the centre of a catastrophic failure this season, but take nothing away from United’s slick attacking play, creating a platform to build on after labouring to a draw against West Ham United at Old Trafford last week.
How Man Utd beat Wolves
Amorim’s Red Devils have rekindled the feel-good factor. There is work still to be done, and the Portuguese tactician’s system leaves something to be desired, but Manchester United are just one point behind fourth-placed Crystal Palace.
Amorim knew his side would dominate the ball, and dictate the flow of possession they did, but he would have drilled into his troops at half-time a lesson about wayward shooting. As per Sofascore, United chalked up an xG total of 4.01 across the match, with 3.06 of that total coming after the interval despite 14 of the 27 shots on the evening being lashed across the first half.
It’s also worth noting that five of United’s seven shots on target came during the first half. This may have smacked of desperation in other circumstances, but at Molineux illustrated a tactical tweak orienting toward greater variation, a ramping-up of the gas that outfoxed a Wolves backline that crumbled under pressure.
One way of looking at it would be that United toiled, to little avail, before the break, but we also saw tactical adaptation from a manager who has been criticised for his obstinacy.
Content creator Adam Joseph said that “tonight doesn’t solve any issues”, but he praised the victory all the same. Now, Amorim needs to go one step further and deepen the nuances of his system, surely ending one protracted experiment which might have seen the visitors come unstuck, had they been playing a higher calibre of opponent.
Amorim must boldly drop Man United talent
Amad Diallo is one of the most talented players in Manchester United’s squad, but he’s also been played out of position for the lion’s share of the Amorim era, and the contest at Molineux issued a reminder that he cannot continue in an unnatural wing-back berth forever.
Not only does it hinder the 23-year-old’s attacking play, but it also fails to offer United’s system the balance and fluency it requires down the right channel.
Amad Diallo vs Wolves
Match Stats
#
Minutes played
90′
Goals
0
Assists
0
Touches
68
Accurate passes
39/44 (89%)
Chances created
4
Possession lost
9x
Crosses
1/3
Dribbles
2/4
Recoveries
3
Tackles won
1/1
Duels won
5/9
Data via Sofascore
This was by no means a, quote unquote, disasterclass, but Amad did leave something to be desired, lacking end product and culpable for a few defensive lapses. The Manchester Evening News recognised this, handing the Ivory Coast international a 6/10 match rating.
Amad, after all, was perhaps at fault for the Old Gold’s parity-restoring goal before the break, failing to close David Møller Wolfe as the wing-back cut back to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, who scored.
There were flashes of quality, for sure, but we must remember that Amad is performing, dutifully, in a role that is not his own, and this was picked up by analyst Raj Chohan, who remarked that it has been “completely unserious squad planning” on Amorim’s part, shoehorning a fleet-footed forward into a position that he “does not suit playing” in.
This season, ten of Amad’s 15 appearances have come as United’s right-sided wing-back, with five outings made in an attacking role off the central striker.
There he plays his best stuff, and if Amorim is to succeed at the club and lead the squad for the long run, he will need to find a way to maximise this talented forward’s skills in a position that he can call his own.
Bad news for Mainoo: INEOS make £70m "passing machine" Man Utd’s no.1 target
Man United’s need for a new centre-midfielder is as pressing as ever.
ByAngus Sinclair 4 days ago