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Bailly’s Courage
Manchester United appeared to be in trouble at the edge of the break as Pedro Neto drifted away down the Wolves’ right, with Adama Traore lightning-fast supporting in the middle and only Harry Maguire and Eric Bailly holding the fort for United.
When Neto looked up and tried to find Bailly, the Ivorian appeared to be heading for the ball, but realized the danger just in time and ran to intercept the pass and deny Traore a heads-up against the weary David de Gea.
It showed the importance of having some rhythm on that baseline. Had it been Maguire and Victor Lindelof against Neto and Traore United he would not have escaped. Lindelof’s back injury gave Bailly a chance against the Wolves, but he was solid once again and confident in possession.
This was the first time Bailly started three straight games for United since March 2018, a remarkable streak that shows why his time at Old Trafford has not gone as he and the club would have hoped. There have been too many injuries, representing more than 70 lost games in total.
He missed nine games earlier this season, but overall his fitness record has been better since he came back against Chelsea in February. Since then it has never run around the side, but the door is ajar now and it is proving it can offer something other than the trusty Lindelof.
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A defining moment?
United’s point at Leicester had started to look more and more useful since Boxing Day, as Chelsea (twice), Liverpool, Tottenham and then the Foxes themselves lost points.
And just when it looked like United were going to do their bit for what is more of a title grind than a title run, Marcus Rashford showed up to score a deviant winner in injury time.
The mark of champions and a defining moment in this title race? Maybe not, but in the here and now it feels like a great moment, extending United’s impressive unbeaten Premier League streak to nine games, seven of them won, and lifting them to second place.
United will start 2021 as Liverpool’s closest rivals in this title race and there would be a good chance of that happening at the start of this calendar year.
There are still unresolved flaws for United, there are still things to work on, but 2020 has been a good year for Solskjaer. This brought his record to 19 wins in 33 Premier League games, with 65 points accumulated in that time. That would average 75 points in a season, not in a title-winning way (from 1996-97), but much better than in recent years.
Thanks to this unpredictable season, United have the opportunity to take the lead in the New Year. They will take a few more victories like this.
The role of Van de Beek
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer might have a shame of riches to choose from in his bench right now, especially with nine alternates available, but the fact that he rarely turns to Donny van de Beek feels enlightened.
Since he squandered his chance to impress early on against West Ham, he has played just 29 minutes of Premier League football, in brief cameos against Sheffield United and Leeds as United went ahead by two goals and five goals respectively at his point. input. Against Everton in the Carabao Cup he was deflected and was the first to give way when changes were made in the 64th minute. Then, in close matches against Leicester and Wolves, his credentials from the bench have been ignored.
The monotonous encounter with the Wolves felt like it was asking for a little more creativity and cunning, but again Van de Beek was ignored. Luke Shaw came in at halftime, then Anthony Martial and then Scott McTominay after the late goal.
Paul Pogba has been great for United recently, but this was a night where little was working for him and his long-range radar was off. That Solskjaer didn’t turn to Van de Beek has to raise more questions about his role in this team and his own frustration levels must be starting to rise, especially with the Euro (hopefully) on the horizon this summer.
Familiar and unwanted enemies
Solskjaer must be sick of seeing wolves. Of his 114 games with United, seven have been against Wolves and all have been tough affairs.
United have improved tremendously since their first meeting with them, a defeat in the FA Cup quarter-final in March 2019, but their improvements have not made their matches against these opponents easier.
None of the seven games have had more than one goal either way and United has consistently struggled to create chances against Wolves. Even with Fernandes in their ranks here, it was a frustrating night for the forwards.
Those seven games have now produced just five United goals and barely a pleasant game between them. No one is counting down the days until Molineux’s return on the final day of the season, unless United are still in the race for the title, of course.
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The coppersmith or a sensible tactic?
Given that United had an advantage over Wolves for this game, having had around 30 extra hours of rest compared to opponents, Solskjaer possibly didn’t need to make as many changes as he did.
But he has a stronger team that he has worked with this season and the evidence so far is that he plans to use it, with the intention of keeping his team fresh for the shoot, in case the trophies are up for grabs from April. .
The half-dozen changes to the team that tied at Leicester City means Solskjaer has made 42 changes in 15 Premier League games this season, a league record. It may have been too many for this game, but he’s clearly prioritizing freshness for the later stages of the season.
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