Manchester United crashed back down to Earth following Thursday’s memorable Europa League comeback, losing 0-1 to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.
After what the Theatre of Dreams experienced a few days ago, it was quite the boring Sunday afternoon for the fans as the players seemed to go through the motions out on the pitch.
Ruben Amorim made quite a few changes to the team after he declared that the Red Devils would now be focussing on the Europa League instead of the English top-flight and the performance mirrored the coach’s response.
It was a lethargic display from most with Rasmus Hojlund the worst of the lot. The home side did not push as hard, knowing that the league is done and dusted for them.
Rasmus poor again
The visitors were equally lacklustre but managed to score through a fantastic free-kick in the 77th minute with the home side failing to find the back of the net despite having 12 shots, three times more than the opposition.
Amorim will not be too bothered with the result but he will once again be bitterly disappointed with what he saw from his No 9.
The Dane was slow to react inside the box at most times while the sole occasion he got the better of his marker, he dilly-dallied which allowed the defender to recover.
However, with no Joshua Zirkzee available, the head coach has no option but to keep starting the 22-year-old. His replacement Chido Obi looked far more dangerous when he finally came on in the second half.
Brilliant from young duo
Just like him, it was the youngsters who shone under the Sun with Tyler Fredricson impressing on his debut while Harry Amass was also solid out on the left.
Experienced players like Christian Eriksen and Victor Lindelof looked shaky at times but not the young duo. Amorim was once again reminded of the power of the United academy which has bailed him out time and again this season.
The 20-time English league champions will next face Bournemouth, which will come a few days before their semi-final against Athletic Bilbao.
Judging from Sunday’s display, Amorim is expected to drop quite a few underperformers while a lot more youngsters are expected to be in the starting lineup for that game.
Feature image Carl Recine via Getty Images
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Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
