15 August 2023 , 09:08
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Gary Neville has a different view from manager Erik ten Hag of what area Manchester United need to improve on following the nervy 1-0 home win over Wolves.
The Red Devils managed to get their 2023/24 Premier League efforts off to a winning start, but things could have been very different had Wolves not wasted the staggering amount of chances they created. For context, Gary O'Neil's men had 23 attempts on goal, the second most any opposition side has managed at Old Trafford since 2004.
Raphael Varane punished the visitors for their poor finishing in the 76th minute when he headed home from close range. A collective wave of relief washed over the home faithful, but concerns over the quality of the performance will remain regardless of the result.
Neville and Ten Hag's concerns differ, however. The former United right-back has raised questions over the Red Devils midfield, who did not enjoy their best night's work. Time and time again, Wolves duo Matheus Nunes and Matheus Cunha managed to get the better of their United counterparts and enjoy the freedom of the middle of the park to themselves.
The likes of Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes did not offer the United defence enough protection and as a result, Nunes and Cunha created plenty of chances that the Wolves attackers failed to take. Neville was brutal in his assessment at full-time.
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"Manchester United's midfield was non-existent, it emptied," he told Monday Night Football. "It was a concern. If you watched Man Utd in pre-season, leaving Casemiro on his own when Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes go forward, it looks great. But you've got to have a balance. And the front three don't really work hard enough in a defensive sense.
"That would have been a real worry because Wolves have got a new manager only four days ago and a lot of misery around how their season may end up, but they’ve been brilliant tonight."
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Casemiro endured a night to forget in the United midfieldWith that being said, Ten Hag has laid the bulk of the blame on attackers and bemoaned how his frontline performed. "It was a tough game. We can be much better on the ball," admitted the Dutchman. "Wolves were very aggressive. We could be better at decision-making. But I see many positive things, six, seven good high-ball regains, we have to make more of them. In a low block, we fought for our lives.
"I think we could have scored from turnovers, there were overloads, and the frontline was not in the best form today. They could have made more out of it. Last week we scored some incredible goals, today we didn’t but it will come." Things aren't expected to get any easier for United, who travel to Tottenham on Saturday evening for their second league fixture of the season.