Another clash between Manchester United and Wolves again, it was the fourth of the season and the second clash in the Premier League. Both clubs spent some budgets to reinforce their squad in the last days of the winter transfer window.
The game resulted in a nil-nil draw after 90 minutes. Bruno Fernandes, the 55m Euro signing was an eye-catching man, but there were more to investigate on both teams.
In this tactical analysis, we will analyze how Manchester United drew Wolves at the Old Trafford. It is an analysis that focuses on tactics.
Lineups
Ole Gunnar Solskjær played his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation. United were missing Paul Pogba, Nemanja Matić and Scott McTominay, hence, they played Fred and Andreas Pereira as the pivots. There were a few changes from the derby, Daniel James returned to the starting lineup, Jesse Lingard was on the bench. Luke Shaw played as a left-back, as Brandon Williams was rested on the bench. Of course, the new man, Fernandes also started.
Wolves welcomed the return of Diogo Jota and Willy Boly. Nuno Espírito Santo’s team played in a 3-4-2-1 formation, and the coach made some rotations. Given to the return of the injured players, Leander Dendoncker and Pedro Neto were left on the bench. Meanwhile, their new singing, Daniel Podence, was also on the bench.
Defence of Wolves
Wolves, as in their own solid style, their defence was compact. Statistically, they restricted United’s xG at 0.58 (Their season average was 1.57). As usual, they did not push too high to press for possession, they set a low block to resist United. They were good at locking the ball side, preventing central penetration.
They set their midblock deep, moving the pivots to defend the ball side with the back-five, so that United could not overload an area. On some occasions, they even allowed United to go forward at flanks, instead of passing to zone 11 or 14, since Nuno believed his team was capable of clearing the crosses.
