Man Utd vs Wolves: Red Devils lost their first game under Rangnick

Man Utd vs Wolves Prediction

Since Ralf Rangnick took over the first team, Manchester United have not suffered any loss in both home and away games. Although the Red Devils’ performances have not been truly persuasive, their development in playing style is undeniable. 

The Old Trafford home team just had 2 games not being conceded in the latest 5 games. The 3-1 win against Burnley some days ago was the only time Christiano and his teammates scored more than a goal into the opponents’ nets in these aforementioned series. In addition, the 4-2-2-2 system of new manager Ralf Rangnick has not worked effectively. They would need to manage to connect well and win in the following games against weaker opponents to accumulate points before facing top teams. 

On the other side, Wolverhampton have been having the defending force which is considered one of the best in the Premier League this season. Bruno Lage’s team were standing 9th on the EPL table but they were getting 14 conceded goals, more than only the top team Manchester City. However, the ability of the Wolves was not impressive. They have just won 2 games since the past November with no game of scoring more than a goal.  

Having talented stars in the squad, Man Utd was still higher estimated than Wolves. It was predicted a 2-1 score on Betimate.

Man Utd 0-1 Wolves

XI squads: 

• Man Utd: David De Gea, Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Anthony Elanga 84’), Raphaël Varane, Phil Jones, Luke Shaw, Scott McTominay, Nemanja Matic, Mason Greenwood (Bruno Fernandes 60’), Jadon Sancho (Rashford 75’), Edinson Cavani, Cristiano Ronaldo.
• Wolves: Jose Sa, Max Kilman, Conor Coady, Romain Saiss, Nelson Semedo, Francisco Trincao (Adama Traore 66’), Rúben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Fernando Marcal, Raúl Jimenez (Fabio Silva 81’), Daniel Podence (Leander Dendocker 88’).

Manager Ralf Rangnick gave a starting opportunity for Phil Jones in the game against Wolverhampton. The English centre-back paired with Varane to create an ideal defensive duo when Harry Maguire got chest pain, Victor Lindelof was tested positive with Covid-19 and  Eric Bailly returned to his home country to play in CAN. In reality, Jones played not bad in his first match as a starter after 2 years. This time, Rangnick also let Ronaldo wear the captain armband. This is the second time that the Portuguese star was on duty as a captain in Man Utd’s shirt.   

However, the lack of connection among players made the Red Devils often lose their ball enigmatically. They let the visitors finish 15 times in the first half and De Gea had to try his best to save 4 among them. Unlike the Wolves, Red Devils had only 4 shots in the first half but 2 of them were wasteful due to the lack of vision of Sancho and Cavani. Captain Cristiano Ronaldo also contributed 2 headers but they were not accepted as goals. 

Ronaldo and teammates can not control the game

In the second half, the home team played better, especially after Bruno Fernandes was on the pitch. In the 67th minute, Nemanja Matic dribbled the ball and made a perfect cross for Fernandes to shoot but the ball hit the bar and the chance for Reds was missed. Later, Ronaldo was assisted twice by Fernandes but he failed in converting his shots into valid goals. His first header was offside and his second shot was out of the net. 

While the home team were managing to control the ball, the Wolves proved their skills. In the 75th minute, after Matic brought down Adama Traore on the edge of the area, Romain Saiss stepped up to take the freekick shot but it smacked the crossbar, though De Gea looked like he had it covered.

In the 82nd minute, excellent Man Utd’s goalie could not stop the strong shot of Joao Moutinho. That Traore whipped the ball in and Jones' headed clearance flew to Moutinho’s position. He immediately took a touch and fired low past De Gea. It was 1-0 for the visitors. 

Moutinho scores for Wolves

In the last minutes of the game, the home team could not manage to equalize the score so they lost all 3 points right at their home stadium. This is the first loss of the team under Rangnick. That means the experienced manager will need to work more to connect his team and help the Red Devils return to their glorious time. 

Rangnick loses the first game as Man Utd manager

On the other hand, this is the first time Wolves win MU at Old Trafford since 1980. Thanks to this victory, the Wolves have perfect 3 points, climbing 8th on the EPL table while Red Devils were down to the 7th position with just 3 points more than the visitors after 19 matchdays. 

Reference Sources

• premierleague.com
• manchestereveningnews.co.uk
• betimate.com