In the 21st round of the Premier League, Manchester United sat at home at Old Trafford to meet Wolves, and Portuguese midfielder Moutinho shot through the heart in the second half, and the visiting team beat the Red Devils 1-0 to give Ronnick his first defeat after taking office. After losing their first game in 2022, United slipped to 7th place in the table, one point behind Tottenham Hotspur in one extra round, three points behind West Ham and four points behind Arsenal in the next round.
Manager Ronnick lined up a starting line-up similar to the one he beat Burnley in the previous round: De Gea scored, Wan Bissaka, Phil Jones, Varane and Luke Shaw formed the defensive line, Nemanja Matic and McTomine played as the back, Sancho and Mason Greenwood played as the forwards, and C Ronaldo and Cavani played as double forwards.
This is the second time that Manchester United centre-back Jones has played for the team in 708 days, making his Premier League debut in 712 days. Ronnick said there was no other option, but was not worried. "From what I've seen so far, even when he's not on the big list, Phil [Jones] is always very professional. This time the two centre-backs can't play, so it's a reasonable choice to use him." "Victor (Lindlerff) is still positive for COVID-19 and was confirmed to be absent yesterday morning," Lonnick said. Harry (Maguire) was hit in the chest against Burnley and we thought he could get better, but yesterday it was confirmed that he couldn't play, he was too sore to play when he stood and sat, and it was even more impossible to play."
Maguire was absent and Bruno Fernandez was a substitute, so Ronaldo became the captain of the field for the first time after his return. Lonnick explained: "He and David (De Gea) are two big choices, they are the longest-serving players, and I hope the captain is not a goalkeeper, so I picked Cristiano (Ronaldo)."
After the opening, Wolves mainly controlled the ball, and Manchester United did not carry out high pressing, still using defensive counter-attack tactics. Neither side had a shot from the first 10 minutes to threaten the opponent's goal, and Jones shoveled a kick to win the applause of Old Trafford. In the 12th minute, Wolves' Bourdens got up on the left and De Gea's side saved the bottom line; then a corner kick was attacked, and De Gea freed up to save Ruben Neves' volley.
De Gea, who had just been named United's best in January, continued to be in good shape, with Semedo's high shot from a small angle on the right and Bourdains' low shot from the left, both being turned away by him. In the 26th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo fired a long-range shot from outside the penalty area that finally allowed Wolves goalkeeper José Sa to make his first save. United snapped back possession, but missed too many last passes to create real chances. In contrast, Wolves' goal kick was too bad, and the two sides exchanged white rolls 0-0 in the first half.
United started the second half slightly better, but McTomine was yellowed for a foul on Bodense and Luke Shaw was also cautioned for a foul on Bourdains in midfield, both of whom will be suspended for five yellow cards. Lonnick replaced Fernandez in hopes of improving the midfield organisation, and Greenwood left. Wolves replaced Adama Traore with the superman Adama Traore and stormed the Red Devils' defenses.
In the 67th minute, United missed a good opportunity, Sancho threw the ball out of bounds on the left, Nemanja Matic's cross from the bottom, Fernandez grabbed the point in front of the goal and pushed the frieze to pop up. Subsequently, B Fei opened a free kick on the right, and C Ronaldo's header rushed into the net, but it was ruled invalid due to offside. United attacked vigorously, with Ronaldo firing low left-footed shots on the counter-attack that deflected off the right upright.
Wolves' Traorebod scored a free-kick in front of the penalty area and Seth's left-footed arcing ball hit the crossbar and popped up. United replaced Sancho with Marcus Rashford and continued to adjust the front. In the 82nd minute of the match, Traore broke through Luke Shaw on the right and crossed, Jones' header was not far away, Moutinho stopped the ball in front of the box and volleyed low with his right foot, the ball flew straight to the bottom left corner of the goal, De Gea whip was out of reach, Manchester United fell behind Wolves 0-1.
Lonnick replaced Wan Bissaka with striker Elanga in hopes of saving the game. In the last minutes of stoppage time, Jones won a free kick at the top of the arc of the penalty area, but B Fee's free throw was saved by José Sa Fei, and finally Manchester United was unable to return to the sky, 0-1 encountering the New Year's opening black.
Manchester United have won three consecutive Premier League games against Wolves, while Wolves have visited Manchester United 10 times without a win, with a record of 3 draws and 7 defeats, 7 clean sheets, and only 3 goals in total, the last time they won at the Dream Theatre was in February 1980. Not only that, since the 1-0 home win over Manchester United in January 2004, Wolves have never scored first in the last 13 Premier League games against Manchester United.
However, after this game, Wolves rewrote history, and the Premier League won the first away victory over Manchester United, fulfilling the 42-year long-cherished wish of conquering Old Trafford. And this achievement, they deserve it. Coach Laje's tactics and team performance in this game were all completely better than the Red Devils, and it was reasonable to win.
United maintained the squad and playing style of the last round of the 3-1 win over Burnley, and the winning game was not adjusted, which was beyond reproach under normal circumstances. However, given the difference in the characteristics of his opponents, Ronnick took it for granted. Because Burnley's poor performance is the real reason for United's victory. Wolves, by contrast, are more stable defensively and midfielders than United, so it's not easy to beat the team defensively.
Wolves are a three-centre-back system with two excellent wing-backs and a breakthrough winger involved in the front, so United's sharp side attack against Burnley did not work, especially wanbisaka's last pass ability was too poor to create enough opportunities for Cavani and Cristiano Ronaldo. Coupled with the fact that Fernandez was not in the starting line-up, the United midfielder was completely incapable of organizing the attack, and the scene was controlled by Wolves. The away team tactics are more effective, the coordination is smoother, there are more opportunities, and it makes sense to win.
The data shows that wolves had 15 shots on goal in the first half alone, setting a record for the most Feet in the Dream Theatre in the Premier League half. If Laje had a better goalscorer, the half would be enough to kill United. Thanks to Wolves' efficiency of scoring just one goal in the last six Premier League games and De Gea's saves, United survived to the end.
United's defeat cannot be blamed on the absence of a centre-back, as Jones is almost the best player in the defence. In addition to the problems in the starting arrangement, Lonnick was also too slow to change, and he could only blame himself for losing for the first time after coaching the Red Devils. Next, United's match against Villa will be missing the suspended McTomine and Luke Shaw, and the "Godfather of Germany" will face a bigger challenge.