Manchester United 0-1 Wolves: Key Talking Points As Wolves Hand Ralf Rangnick His First Old Trafford Defeat

In what was another questionable display from Manchester United on Monday evening, the former Premier League champions failed to make up any ground in the top-four chase as they slumped to a 1-0 loss against Wolves.

Suffering a deserved defeat at Old Trafford, Joao Moutinho’s late strike with just eight minutes left on the clock was also enough to hand Ralf Rangnick his first defeat since taking charge in Manchester on an interim basis.

Still sat four points adrift of finding a route back into the Champions League spots, we have taken a look at the main talking points as United opened the New Year with what was a nightmare display on home soil.

Wolves deserve all the plaudits

Last seen prior to Monday’s meeting at Old Trafford back on December 19th when playing out a rugged 0-0 stalemate against Chelsea at Molineux, Wolves showed no signs of ring rust when returning to action here.

Although Bruno Lage’s men might have won just one of their previous six Premier League contests before getting underway in Manchester, the Oranges really came flying out of the traps.

Not concerned by their opponents and dominating proceedings throughout the whole first-half, the former Benfica boss saw Ruben Neves go close to opening the scoring with a wonderful volley that forced David de Gea to scramble across his goal.

Overrunning United in midfield and watching both Raul Jiminez and Nelson Semedo also go close before heading into the interval, Monday’s traveling support were really sent into overdrive as Moutinho grabbed a deserved late winner.

Although Moutinho’s second-half strike might have been just the second Premier League goal that Wolves have recorded in over 650 minutes of action, Lage’s men couldn’t have gotten the New Year off to a better start.

Recording their first victory at Old Trafford in over 40 years, some in Wolves’ camp will now have their sights set on making a charge for the top-six.

Rangnick’s unbeaten start comes to an end

Managing to sign off 2021 with a much-welcomed 3-1 win against a struggling Burnley side, Rangnick had made it clear prior to Monday’s meeting that he was calling on his side to find some stability.

However, while Manchester United might have managed to get Rangnick’s tenure off to a winning start with hard-fought victories against Crystal Palace and a rock-bottom Norwich, the former champions have really struggled to impress.

Coming under real scrutiny for their woeful 1-1 draw away at relegation scrappers Newcastle last month, many fans around Old Trafford have been expecting it was only a matter of time before the 63-year-old’s unbeaten start came to an end.

Heavily outplayed on Monday evening and managing to record just a pair of shots on target, the frustration was there to be heard at the final whistle.

Given little to cheer about as second-half substitute Bruno Fernandes powered his effort against the bar with almost 20 minutes left, Cristiano Ronaldo also failed to make any kind of impact, despite being handed the captain’s armband.

While Fernandes might have also tested José Sá with a last-gasp free-kick from the edge of the box, it is hard to argue that United deserved anything at Old Trafford.

Is Ralf really the man to take United forward?

Although Monday’s 1-0 defeat might have been United’s first loss since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s final game in charge, at Watford, on November 20th, it is hard to see how the Reds have improved over the past six weeks.

While the struggling English giants might have had to deal with a public COVID-19 outbreak in their camp last month, the performances have simply not been up to the standards of a side seeking another top-four finish.

Knowing that they were lucky to have picked up maximum points against Norwich and Palace prior to their enforced break, questions are already starting to be asked of Rangnick.

Although the one-time RB Leipzig boss might have received a host of plaudits from the likes of Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp after taking charge at Old Trafford, his 4-2-2-2 formation has failed to work on multiple occasions.

Constantly tinkering with his tactics and reports last week that he is already facing dressing room unrest among his senior squad, Monday’s display only underlines why Rangnick has a tremendous amount of work to do.

Watching Antonio Conte guide Spurs to a real resurge, are some Manchester United fans be wondering what could have been?

Match Report:

Manchester United: De Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Jones, Varane, Shaw, McTominay, Matic, Greenwood, Sancho, Cavani, Ronaldo

Subs: Elanga, Fernandes, Rashford

Wolves: Sá, Kilman, Coady, Saïss, Semedo, Neves, Moutinho, Saiss, Podence, Jiménez, Trincão

Subs: Traoré, Silva, Dendoncker

Goals: Moutinho 82′

Yellow Cards: Manchester United: Matic, Shaw, McTominay – Wolves: Sá

Red Cards: N/A

Referee: Mike Dean