Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Wolves draw blood as United fail to step up
LUKE Shaw called for more intensity, commitment and togetherness after starstudded Manchester United fell to a deserved home defeat to Wolves.
Ralf Rangnick’s unbeaten start to life as interim manager came to a shuddering halt yesterday evening as 2022 began with a meek Old Trafford display.
Wolves managed 15 shots in a one-sided first half and continued to threaten after the break, with Joao Moutinho striking late on to seal a notable 1-0 victory.
Shaw said United’s performance was as disappointing as the result on an evening when they were outfought and out-thought.
Asked if adjusting to Rangnick was part of the reason for the poor display, the left-back told Sky Sports: “I’m not sure. I don’t think you can put it on that.
“We’ve been here for a long time, we’ve played at home, we know what it’s like when we have the intensity, you can feel the motivation is there.
“But I think maybe tonight we struggled. I didn’t feel when I was on the pitch that we were all there together. We felt like we were struggling and it was tough.”
Shaw made a point of praising “exceptional” Phil Jones following his impressive return from nearly two years out but knows the team must do better as a unit.
He said: “It’s tough – I think you look at our squad, you look at our team, the players we have – we have unbelievable quality, we have great quality.
“Sometimes quality isn’t enough. Like I said, we need to bring the intensity, we need to bring being more aggressive and we need to bring more motivation.
“Maybe from the outside today it didn’t look like we had any of those three, but inside the dressing room we know we want to win. We know what we want.
“But when we step out on that pitch we need to give 100%. Everything we’ve got.
“I’m not saying not everyone did, but I think to win these types of games against a tough team like Wolves, we all need to be 100% committed because we know it’s always close games whoever we play. It’s just tough and disappointing, but we have time now to re-focus.”
Rangnick certainly has work to do if he is to bring control and consistency to the side, admitting Wolves were the better team.
“I knew that it would be a difficult job,” said the interim United boss, whose decision to take off Mason Greenwood was jeered by some fans.
“That was also the reason why they contacted me and signed me.”
Having survived a Wolves onslaught in the first half, substitute Bruno Fernandes struck the crossbar and Cristiano Ronaldo saw a goal ruled out for offside after the break.
Romain Saiss hit the crossbar from a free-kick before Moutinho sent the travelling hordes wild as Wolves secured their first Old Trafford win since 1980.
Manager Bruno Lage said “It’s one more victory – it’s a lovely stadium, a place with a lot of history, but the most important thing is the way we played this game against this team.
“One more time, we prepared very well for the game, I gave a lot of confidence to my players to come to play in our way.”