Manchester United are unlikely to win the Premier League in 2023-24.
Erik ten Hag set out his stall early saying that only Manchester City can talk about winning the title in pre-season, and that “any other club must first compete for the first four positions (in the table),” while on the pre-season tour. A shaky performance in a 1-0 over Wolverhampton Wanderers last night gave evidence to this belief. United did manage to win their opening game, which compared to last season's start — a 2-1 loss to Brighton followed by a 4-0 defeat at Brentford that left them in last place in the table — is a solid improvement.
They have the potential to be better than what they once were, but even that level of development may see them battling for the Champions League places again rather than pushing for a title challenge this season.
Games between United and Wolves rarely make for high-quality entertainment, with the record for the former reading won six, drawn four and lost three in their 13 match-ups since 2018-19. The old boxing adage states that styles make fights, and despite a number of changes in manager Wolves have consistently played in a similar style. They defend deep and set ball-winning traps in central midfield before breaking quickly. This has made them a troublesome foe for United.
Ruben Neves was so effective in these games that he created his own transfer rumour, with many a United fan believing him to be an adequate fit at Old Trafford.
Monday night's clash was the type of game often decided by which team's midfield can weather the footballing turbulence long enough for others to capitalise on any proper goalscoring chances. A cross from Aaron Wan-Bissaka and a header from Raphael Varane gave United the winning goal on Monday, but the true story — and point of concern — will be with United's midfield.
Mason Mount battles with Nelson Semedo (Photo: Nick Potts/PA Images via Getty Images)
This summer presented the opportunity for Ten Hag to redefine who comprises his team and what style of football they will play. It was a chance the manager took, installing Andre Onana and Mason Mount into the starting XI with a new edict to turn United into the best transition side in the world.
Yet against Wolves, things went awry as the United manager made the curious choice of having Luke Shaw invert from left-back to join Casemiro in central midfield. Ahead of the pair, Mount would push forward to join Bruno Fernandes to form a box midfield.
The experiment would not last a dour first half before being shuffled away. United's back three of Wan-Bissaka, Varane and Lisandro Martinez contained too many personnel who prefer short, safe, conservative passes, leaving the team too slow when looking for an open man and a means to progress the ball. What was gained by having Shaw in central areas on the ball was lost without his presence offering overlapping runs to Alejandro Garnacho. The teenager looked shaky without the security of his left-back and was often wasteful when in possession.
A second-half change of Victor Lindelof for the booked Martinez saw the end of the 3-2-4-1 and brought Shaw back to the left, but issues persisted still.
Ten Hag made the bold move to sign Mount in early July over a more conventional box-to-box or defensive-minded midfielder. The United manager envisions his new No 7 to be an energetic sparkplug in his midfield engine, allowed to operate as a 'free No 8' and work in the final third next to Fernandes.
As the below image illustrates, Mount (No 7) spent much of the game next to the United captain (No 8) leaving large amounts of space for Casemiro (No 18) to manage. The Brazilian remains a fine defensive midfielder but looked every bit his 31 years of age when trying to get around the Old Trafford pitch.
Future matches will rely either on Mount relaxing his forays forward, or Casemiro learning to push up and join the Englishman with this high-risk/high-reward strategy. Ten Hag ideally wants his men to win the ball high up the field before launching rapid attacks. One game into the season and they are leaving too much space in midfield for opposition players to wreak havoc in.
Issues were compounded by a tepid front press and an all-too-casual approach when in possession. United lost the ball 81 times on Monday, the home crowd having one too many heart-in-mouth moments as Wolves duo Matheus Cunha and Matheus Nunes charged through central areas with ease. They would concede 23 shots in their opening game of 2023-24. Only newly promoted Luton Town (27) and Sheffield United (24) gave up more in Gameweek 1.
But still, they went home victorious. Balancing creativity with realistic goals is the mark of a capable leader and Ten Hag remains adept at correcting course when his team is in need of aid. A double substitution of Jadon Sancho and Christian Eriksen for Garnacho and Mount gave United some much-needed calmness on the ball before Varane's header offered the breakthrough. The later introductions of Facundo Pellistri (for Antony in the 77th minute) and Scott McTominay (for Marcus Rashford in the 88th) provided enough grit to grind out a result.
“We have to move with the ball (when retreating) and be compact,” said the United manager at full-time. “And once you are compact. you have to be aggressive and fighting in the duels.
“Today, we lost some fights and allowed the opponent to counter-attack. Luckily, we either defended the counter-attacks well or we had Andre Onana who made some very good saves.”
United did need to call upon their new goalkeeper, who was impressive in his first competitive debut until he collided with Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic when looking to claim a cross in added time. Neither referee Simon Hooper nor VAR decided that the incident warranted a spot kick, but at full-time Wolves manager Gary O'Neil said he had received an apology from the PGMOL's Jon Moss over the decision.
A chaotic ending to a mostly drab game, but a victory that gives United a good footing for a long season ahead.
