In a rare moment of comfort, Manchester United actually convincingly beat a team they were expected to beat, and Wolves manager Rob Edwards had some interesting things to say about Ruben Amorim’s side.
On paper, this was the easiest game for Man Utd against a winless Wolves side, but then again, Ruben Amorim’s side rarely does easy things the easy way.
However, the 4-1 win against Wolves did end up being convincing, even if there were some frustrating moments of wastefulness in between.’
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Wolves manager Rob Edwards was full of praise for United’s counter-attacking ability, picking out one player in particular whose movement was a nuisance for his defence.
Photo by Darren Staples / AFP via Getty ImagesRob Edwards praises Diogo Dalot’s runs
This United side flourishes where there is space to play the ball into, rather than having to beat low blocks by having the majority of possession.
In that aspect, the second goal was absolutely crucial, as it left Wolves chasing the game and committing players forward, which played into United’s hands.
According to Rob Edwards, the second goal started with Diogo Dalot’s smart run, which his players were unable to track.
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It caused chaos in Wolves’ defence as they lost shape, making it easy for Bruno Fernandes to pick him out, with the wing-back assisting Bryan Mbeumo’s shot into an open goal.
He said: “The fast transition is where we got things wrong. We didn’t track the run of Dalot [for the second goal]. Didn’t get our organisation right for the transitions.”
From there, Wolves faced an uphill battle of trying to score an equaliser by throwing players forward, which, as per Edwards, played into United’s hands.
Man Utd’s counter-attacking ability on display
A key reason why United need to score the first goal in games is that it provides them with space to play on transition, which is where they excel.
It happened against Wolves as they took the lead and re-took it, which Edwards said is why the scoreline ended up being so comfortable.
He said: “Then as we try to get back into the game, we get opened up even more. United’s strength is obviously that counter-attack and speed in how quickly they can go and hurt you. They showed that a few times tonight.”
There are questions to be asked about United’s inability to control games and probe with the ball, but when it clicks for this team, as it did against Wolves, they can look devastating.
It sums up Wolves’ plight this season that United clicked against them, but Bournemouth will pose a different challenge.
This game provided much-needed three points, but as Amorim will accept himself, this is far from a finished product.
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