Matheus Nunes of Wolves gives a three-word statement following Manchester United’s defeat at Old Trafford.
On a difficult opening night of the season at home to Wolves, fortune favored Manchester United.
Wolves struck the post, had a strong penalty appeal denied, and caused all sorts of issues for United on the counter-attack all night.
“Wolves’ tally of 23 shots tonight was the second most in a Premier League away game at Old Trafford in recorded history (since 2003-04),” according to Opta data.
“Only Chelsea (25) attempted more in a Premier League away game against Manchester United in November 2005.” Chelsea also went down 1-0 that day.”
Wolves boss Gary O’Neill lashed out after his team was refused a penalty, saying Andre Onana ‘smashed’ his player.
The Wolves players, including Matheus Nunes, felt the same sense of unfairness.
The Portuguese midfielder posted on Instagram, saying, “We deserved more.”
Opening games do not tell the entire tale.
Sir Alex Ferguson would agree: winning games when you don’t play well, grinding out results, is the measure of a great club.
Nobody is arguing that Manchester United are a ‘great team,’ but Erik ten Hag’s men aspire to get there. And holding on and pulling off a result like this was critical.
We’ve seen United start fast before, beating Chelsea 4-0 on the first day of the season in 2019 and Leeds 5-1 in 2021. It got the team nowhere.
Similarly, we have seen the team start poorly, losing 3-1 to Palace at Old Trafford in 2020 and at home to Brighton in 2022. In each case, United went on to have successful seasons.
It’s all about scoring points on the board as soon as possible. The form will either improve or deteriorate throughout the season. For the time being, we’re just relieved that United came away with three points.
We’ve seen United start fast before, beating Chelsea 4-0 on the first day of the season in 2019 and Leeds 5-1 in 2021. It got the team nowhere.
