Manchester United entertained Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford earlier tonight hoping to book a place in the fourth round of the FA Cup. It was an evenly contested first half with Wolves shading possession of the ball, but there was nothing to split the two teams at the half-time break.
The Red Devils came back stronger in the second 45 minutes and finally managed to make the breakthrough in the 67th minute via Juan Mata’s breakaway goal. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men defended resolutely and managed to hang on to their narrow advantage as the match finished 1-0 in favour of the Mancunian giants.
Let’s take a look at how each Man United player fared during the contest versus Wolves.
GK: Sergio Romero – 7/10
The Argentine goalie bagged another clean sheet by reading the danger quickly and making some vital clearances for his side. It was another impressive showing from him tonight.
RB: Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7/10
He defended valiantly at the back and made a few well-timed tackles to win possession back for his team. However, the ex-Crystal Palace full-back was once again average on the offensive end of the field.
CB: Victor Lindelöf – 7/10
The Swede centre-back had a good game as he kept the ball moving at the back. He dealt with whatever the Wolves attackers threw at him and secured an important shutout for his side.
CB: Harry Maguire – 5.5/10
The English defender had some trouble coping with Raul Jimenez’s threat and got cautioned for a poor tackle on the Mexican striker.
LB: Brandon Williams – 7/10
The Man United youngster did not give Pedro Neto an inch without making his presence felt. He showed decent pace at times down the left flank and was impressive throughout the 90 minutes.
CM: Fred – 5/10
The Brazilian midfielder made a poor mistake but got bailed out by VAR. He distributed the ball accurately at times but didn’t do enough going forward.
CM: Nemanja Matic – 5/10
The Serbia international was once again too slow for the game and put in another lacklustre display at the heart of the Red Devils midfield.
RM: Juan Mata – 8/10
The Spaniard rolled back the years and popped up with the winning goal just when his team needed him to step up the most. He casually dinked the ball over John Ruddy, which was the difference between the two sides.
CAM: Mason Greenwood – 5/10
It was not one of his best games wearing the famous red jersey of Man United. The youngster struggled to get anything going for him in the opposition half and put in a toothless display during the game.
LM: Daniel James – 6/10
He was always looking to get involved in the attack but didn’t show enough quality in the final third. James went close to scoring, but he dragged his shot too wide in the second half.
ST: Anthony Martial – 6.5/10
The French striker was quiet for major periods of the match but managed to release Mata after making a clever turn which won the game for the home team.
Substitutes:
LM: Marcus Rashford – 6/10
The English striker made some darting runs with the ball but had no end product to show for his efforts. He went off injured after lasting just 16 minutes on the field.
CAM: Andreas Pereira – 5/10
He tried to buy some cheap fouls but to no great effect.
LM: Jesse Lingard – 5/10
He was mostly a spectator for the final ten minutes of the contest.
