Man Utd drew 1-1 against Wolves in the Premier League on Tuesday and here are the talking points and moments you might have missed.
Manchester United shared the points in a 1-1 draw with Wolves in the Premier League on Tuesday night. United took the lead in the 27th minute through a heavily deflected Joshua Zirkzee effort, but Wolves drew level on the stroke of half-time thanks to a headed goal from defender Ladislav Krejci.
Rob Edwards had not won a single point since his appointment as Wolves boss at the beginning of November, but the 43-year-old oversaw a draw against United.
Here are the talking points from the draw and the moments you might have missed:
Sarcastic cheers for Zirkzee
There was a smattering of sarcastic cheers from the Stretford End when it was announced that Zirkzee had been replaced by Jack Fletcher for the second half of the game.
Zirkzee was responsible for the opening goal of the match, but he also had a hand in the Wolves’ equaliser, which is partly why some United fans were happy to see him brought off.
Amorim hooked Zirkzee in favour of giving Fletcher his third senior appearance. Zirkzee is keen to leave in the January window for the sake of regular starts, and he may be granted his wish.
It was time last year that Zirkzee was booed by his own fans after being hooked in the 33rd minute against Newcastle. The reaction against Wolves wasn’t as bad, but the smattering of sarcastic cheers proves that he has failed to convince matchgoing fans since his arrival from Bologna.
Where was the anger?
The reaction – or lack of – from United’s players to Krejci’s equalising goal was fascinating, as they trudged back to the halfway line without saying a word to each other.
Casemiro scooped the ball out of the net and kicked it away in frustration, but there was no inquest amongst the red shirts to determine how the Premier League’s worst side had scored.
The lack of a response was the kind of thing that Roy Keane would slam if he were on punditry duty. Where was the leadership among a group of senior players?
Bruno Fernandes almost certainly would have led an inquest if he had been on the pitch.
The sluggish start
Amorim has regularly spoken about the importance of starting well at Old Trafford because coming out of the traps quickly whips up the crowd and helps to create an intimidating atmosphere.
United’s players looked like they had eaten too much turkey and Christmas pudding in the opening exchanges against Wolves, though. Amorim was not happy with the sluggish start and became increasingly frustrated on the touchline, waving his arms in an attempt to encourage quicker play from the back.
The crowd went flat due to the pedestrian pace. “Is this the Etihad?” the Wolves fans taunted, which was followed by a rendition of “You’re just a ground full of tourists.”
It was understandable that Old Trafford was not at its loudest. Wolves rocked up in Manchester with two points, but they looked like the better side, running harder and winning second balls.
The arm around Sesko
Sesko created an opportunity for himself in the first half thanks to some brilliant centre-forward play, shrugging off his marker before fashioning a yard in space in the box and pulling the trigger. The shot was fired inches wide of the post, and Sesko hit the woodwork shortly after that.
The Slovenia international rose highest from a corner, but his header smacked against the post. He looked to the ground, wondering what more he had to do, and Diogo Dalot put his arm around him.
Dalot looked to be telling his teammate to keep going. Sesko heeded that advice and continued to get himself in dangerous areas, but his inexperience was evident again when he sent a simple header wide following a clever lofted ball over the top from Casemiro.
It would be more concerning if Sesko wasn’t getting into promising positions to score. Nonetheless, his finishing must sharpen to fire United into the Champions League places this season.
Happy with Heaven
United simply could not get going in the opening 20 minutes against Wolves, so it was not a surprise to see fans celebrate a moment of aggression from Ayden Heaven as if he’d scored a goal.
Heaven made an outstanding tackle to dispossess Hwang Hee-chan and pockets of fans around the press box rose to their feet to applaud. And they were standing again just 10 seconds later.
Heaven drove with the ball and found Zirkzee around the box. The Dutchman found the back of the net thanks to a heavy deflection, but it was Heaven that deserved all the credit for the goal.
The crowd’s reaction to Heaven’s tackle was telling. It was the first time in the game that a United player had shown some fight, and it proved to be a catalyst to break the deadlock.
