Perhaps things at Man United aren’t as dire as many might think. Five games undefeated, level on points with Chelsea, who were considered title challengers two weeks ago, and a 4-1 win over Wolves doesn’t seem too bad.
Of course, the huge caveat is that Wolves are dreadful at the moment, but a comfortable win, regardless of their opponent, will work wonders for Ruben Amorim and his side’s confidence.
Captain and Player of the Match Bruno Fernandes opened the scoring in the 25th minute, but United were pegged back by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s goal, Wolves’ first in 43 days, just before half-time.
Whatever Amorim said at the break appeared to work, with Bryan Mbeumo, Mason Mount, and Fernandes all scoring in the second half to earn a crucial three points.
Bruno Fernandes is as valuable as ever
Playing in a much deeper role that he’s used to under Amorim, Fernandes was kind of scapegoated by pundits and some fans suggesting that maybe it time for United to move on from their best player in the post-Fergie era.
It wasn’t entirely unfair. Performances on the pitch were poor, but not completely disastrous. Now, Fernandes appears to be back to his best, and United remain as lucky as ever to have such a mercurial player.
Fernandes has been back to his best over United’s unbeaten run, but this was his most impressive game of the season so far. He ended his game having created the most chances (5), completed the most passes (55), and made 12 passes into the final third.
If United want to get back to their glory days, they STILL need Fernandes to take them there.
Wolves might not win all season
Even the Derby County side that only managed to get 11 points back in 2007-08 had managed to win a game by this point. Fifteen games in, and it’s genuinely hard to work out where Wolves could finally pick up a victory.
Their underlying numbers are atrocious. Wolves are 20th for big chances created (13) 20th for goals per 90 (0.5), third for xG conceded (23.3), and first for fouls per 90 (14.5). At least they’re top of the charts for accurate crosses per 90 (5.6), so that have that going for them.
Wolves will face Arsenal, Brentford, Liverpool, and then Man United AGAIN before the end of December. Speaking after the game, manager Rob Edwards admitted that confidence is at an absolute rock bottom at the moment.
Edwards has a mountainous task to get a win never mind keep them in the Premier League.
Kobbie Mainoo gets a (brief) chance
The midfielder’s future will likely be a VERY hot topic as we head into the January transfer window. It’s no secret that Mainoo wanted to leave the club on loan in the summer due to a lack of minutes and is set to push once again next month.
After the West Ham game, Amorim laughed when asked about Mainoo’s future having decided against bringing him on with the score at 1-1 when many called for a bit more attacking impetus from his substitutions.
He came on for the last 20 minutes (12 normal and nine added), earning a rapturous reception from the travelling United fans. He didn’t do much wrong, but he didn’t do anything particualrly notable either. It’s clear the odd appearance off the bench is doing nothing to help him build any kind of momentum.