Analysis: Manchester United

Head coach Jose Mourinho made two changes to his Manchester United line-up, with Nemanja Matic missing out due to suspension and Ashley Young dropping to the bench. Their replacements, Fred and Luke Shaw, played respectively at central midfield and left-back in Mourinho’s preferred 4-3-3 structure.

Marouane Fellaini started as a single pivot, with Paul Pogba and Fred initially looking to collect passes in between Wolves’ central midfielders and wing-backs – although Fred would often drop short to form a deeper double pivot with Fellaini, hoping to lure out a central midfielder. The front trio of Alexis Sanchez, Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard remained extremely narrow, forming a triangle that covered both inside channels and the central lane.

Wolves’ central midfield pairing of Ruben Neves and Joao Moutinho struggled to block early access into this triangle, as Pogba’s angled runs to the side of play created a passing lane straight into Lingard or Sanchez. The visitors’ central defence would collapse on to the ball, congesting the central play to quickly block any attempts on goal. Despite Wolves generally defending solidly in the central lane, United took the lead when their opponents lost out on a second ball from a Sanchez cross. The free ball fell to Pogba, whose clever touch set Fred up to send a low driven effort into the bottom corner.

The aggressive positioning of full-backs Luke Shaw and Antonio Valencia ensured both Wolves wing-backs had to drop deep into a back five, creating a temporary imbalance within the midfield unit of their mid-block structure. The United back line rarely stepped into midfield with the ball, choosing to pass between themselves across the back line. The dropping of Fred or Fellaini helped progress the ball forward, as the two central midfielders looked to split the first line of pressure. These splitting passes usually found Pogba, who continued as the highest of the three central midfielders.

Once the ball had bypassed the away side’s front three, their two central midfielders were isolated against the narrow triangle of Sanchez, Lingard and Lukaku. Sanchez and Lingard remained narrow but supported around the sides of the two Wolves central midfielders, creating a three-on-two with Pogba. They could then drive and progress forward until they reached the back line, where many of their moves broke down due to Wolves having heavy numbers in central defence.

United saw less and less of the ball as the first half wore on, with the inside runs of their opponents’ wing-backs causing problems for the back line. With the front three stepping on to Wolves’ back line as they built short, the visitors’ rotations within midfield ensured consistent progression well into United’s half. Shaw and Valencia were often occupied by the inside runs of Matt Doherty and Jonny – this then freed up the visitors’ attacking midfielders to receive unchallenged in wide areas. Shaw in particular continued to get caught out by the movement of Helder Costa, who frequently got in behind the left-back in the second half.

Lukaku became the ideal target for early balls from deep against this proactive approach, and Pogba’s range of passing seconds after a regain within his defensive half often found the striker. With United setting up with a tight front line, Lukaku had supporting runners in the form of Sanchez and Lingard within the central lane. Fast attacking combinations between these three, as well as Pogba’s late runs from deep, helped the hosts to quickly work the ball forward – although the majority of their shots on goal were blocked by the central defence.

Fellaini also started to move ahead of the ball for the first time in the match, but this had a damaging effect on their central cover – and this resulted in a Wolves equaliser. Pogba lost possession in the opening minutes of the second period and, with the protective double pivot of Fellaini and Fred not in place, Costa was free to run at Shaw on the Wolves right. His cross found Raul Jimenez, who set back for Moutinho to emphatically smash home.

Both sides soon focused their efforts on attacking quickly after regains, with the diminishing quality of passing increasing the number of transitions. This period of play notably saw Pogba thrive; his ability and vision on the ball enabled him to link midfield to attack before Wolves could recover. The Frenchman’s final ball in the attacking third was also a significant source of creation, as his crosses and through balls frequently found the likes of Lingard, Lukaku and substitute Anthony Martial in advanced positions.

None of the front line could get on the scoresheet, though. Fellaini made a number of late runs forward, adding another aerial presence to challenge for attacking crosses into the penalty area. Even with five minutes of injury time, though, United failed to make use of their late crosses and dropped points at home for the second time already this season.