United Beyond Manchester

With a golden opportunity to jump into the top four, Manchester United fell flat, dropping two points at Old Trafford to 20th-place Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Starting Eleven

Senne Lammens: 7 – Lammens saved the point for United in the second half. His outstanding double save kept the match level as United struggled down the stretch.

Ayden Heaven: 7 – Heaven won the ball back high in the Wolves’ half in a one-on-one situation, leading to Zirkzee’s goal. The young defender has been improving in the last couple of matches, especially while not having to play in the heart of the back three.

Lisandro Martinez: 6 – Martinez was solid defensively, winning two duels and making three clearances. However, his distribution let him down, particularly with long balls out of the back. When United needed to push forward late on, he struggled to find quality passes to advance play.

Luke Shaw: 6 – If there was one player who wanted to get United forward, it was Shaw. Whenever space was offered, he took it and was more dangerous than either of the actual wing-backs.

Diogo Dalot: 5 – Dalot’s excellent block late on likely saved the Reds from embarrassment. However, on his more natural right side, his influence was limited, and the opposition attackers on his side found too much freedom.

Manuel Ugarte: 4 – There is a reason Ugarte plays very little when Amorim has his full squad available. The Uruguayan was all over the place, and not in a good way. He was an easy target when the opposition wanted to push up the field and allowed too much space for their midfielders to operate.

Casemiro: 4 – Casemiro was poor, struggling to push United forward in possession. His communication and positioning alongside Manuel Ugarte were subpar, allowing the visitors far more of the ball and space than would be expected.

Patrick Dorgu: 6 – Dorgu was lively on the left, but after excelling on the right against Newcastle, he was unable to replicate that level of performance.. A late winner to earn his team three points was chalked off due to a correct, but marginal offside call.

Matheus Cunha: 4 – Cunha could not get anything going in attack. While previous matches have seen him take over at times and drive United forward, this game saw him absent for several important periods. He also must improve his interplay in and around the opponent’s 18-yard box rather than shooting on sight.

Joshua Zirkzee: 6 – Zirkzee’s Excellent footwork and fortunate deflection gave United the lead in the 27th minute. However, his poor defensive header assisted the lone Wolves goal

Benjamin Sesko: 4 – Sesko had chances and could not take them. For a striker of his size, Sesko has to improve his aerial finishing. The free header at the back post that he headed into the post was particularly disappointing.

Substitutions

Jack Fletcher: 4 – Everything that Fletcher attempted to do in the match felt rushed. This was probably the worst of his three appearances off the bench so far.

Leny Yoro: 6 – While his introduction for the impressive Ayden Heaven was not well-received, Yoro defended well off the bench.

Bendito Mantato: 4 – Mantato made his deserved debut for United, but it was certainly one to forget. A poor late cross that went out for a goal kick epitomized his performance.

Manager

Ruben Amorim: 3

A manager’s job is not simply to set a team up and pick players; it is also to manage the match and tactically adjust his team when needed. A back four worked well for the Reds against Newcastle, yet when his team struggled against a Wolves team that is one of the worst squads in Premier League history, all Amorim tried was throwing random players on.

Man of the Match: Ayden Heaven