Manchester United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 in the Premier League match at Molineux Stadium, Sunday (29/8).
The Red Devils started the journey in the 2021-2022 season quite well. Man United won 5-1 over Leeds United in the first week of the Premier League, August 14, 2021. However, Bruno Fernandes et al only drew 1-1 with Southampton in the second week of the Premier League.
Unlike Man United, the home team is not doing well. Wolves aka the wolves, short for Wolverhampton Wanderers, lost in the first two weeks of the Premier League, each to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur. The two matches ended with identical scores, 0-1 for the victory against Wolves.
In the first half, Wolverhampton presented more dangerous chances than Man Utd. Raul Jimenez, Joao Moutinho, and Adama Traore took turns giving threats.
However, the lack of composure in finishing plus the slick appearance of David de Gea made Man Utd avoid conceding.
Bruno Fernandes had thrilled Wolverhampton’s goal in the first half after receiving Paul Pogba’s long pass. However, the goal was not confirmed because Fernandes was clearly in an offside position.
In the first half, Man Utd really did not move and could not fire a shot on target against Wolverhampton who was escorted by Jose Sa.
Although he could not let go of the threat against Wolverhampton, Man Utd coach Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has not made any changes to the composition of the players at the start of the second half.
After almost 10 minutes of not much meaningful change, Solskjaer finally decided to field Edinson Cavani to replace Daniel James in the 53rd minute.
Cavani’s presence does not necessarily make Man Utd free from pressure. In the 63rd minute, Wolverhampton had a golden opportunity to score. But Trincao wasted the opportunity presented by Traore’s good pass.
Man Utd then introduced Anthony Martial to replace Jadon Sancho to add pressure. In the 75th minute, Paul Pogba had threatened with a hard shot that almost resulted in a goal.
Man Utd’s pressure finally paid off in the 81st minute through Greenwood who received a ball from Raphael Varane. From a fairly narrow angle, Greenwood successfully fired a hard shot that could not be dammed perfectly by Jose Sa.
Wolverhampton players had protested because they thought there was a violation against Ruben Neves first. But referee Mike Dean instead gave a yellow card to Neves who voiced protest.
Greenwood’s goal was the only goal in the match. Man Utd ended the duel against Wolverhampton with a narrow 1-0 win.
