Between those two matches, there were all kinds of news, speculation, rumors and transfer moves. Man United still had good, terrible and lifeless matches.
Each person will have a different opinion about Ruben Amorim and his students, whether they can finally improve the situation after their first season with the Portuguese coach or not.
Looking at the overall standings, the team is showing more positive signs compared to last season, but the draw at home against Wolves in the middle of the week still left many discomforts for fans, especially when the opponent is the club with the worst record in Premier League history.
When will Man United truly be strong again?", that is a question always present to fans of this team. Perhaps, it will take a very long time for the beautiful days like Sir Alex Ferguson's era to return.
Compared to the same period last season, Man United is winning more in the Premier League (8 matches compared to 7) but often causes disappointment when facing lower-rated teams. They could have climbed to the Top 4, even the Top 3 if they hadn't had bad matches like the recent draw with Wolves.
The Premier League situation this season is extremely tense when the gap between the 5th-placed team (Chelsea, 30 points) and the 14th-placed team (Brighton) is only 5 points. Man United is right behind Chelsea with the same score. They are no longer frequently in a 2-game losing streak but also rarely win 2 consecutive matches in a long time. Amorim's team is better than themselves last season but not to the extent that everyone can be reassured.
Inherited diseases still appeared at Old Trafford in the draw against Wolves. The absence of African stars has caused the coaching staff to fall into a deadlock in personnel selection. Amorim was forced to start with a 3-4-3 formation, instead of using 4-2-3-1 as in the match against Newcastle before. However, the performance with patchwork formation as it is now is very fragmented, the players almost cannot win in one-on-one duels.
The highlight of the match appeared in the combination leading to the first goal, when Ayden Heaven regained the ball from Hwang Hee-chan in Wolves' half before leading the ball close to the penalty area. Heaven's pass to Joshua Zirkzee helped the Dutch striker score. After that, Wolves equalized before halftime and both left the next half with a boring scenario.
After that, Zirzkee was replaced by young player Jack Fletcher to strengthen the midfield, but Man United still struggled with an almost certain relegation opponent. Amorim's team could not overwhelm an opponent who had not won in half a season. Patrick Dorgu's goal in the last minutes of injury time was rejected by the referee for offside. The final whistle sounded and people heard a part of the home audience booing after the disappointing performance.
Man United lacks the necessary stability to turn 1 point into 3 points in matches where they are rated higher. Amorim's team has drawn 5/7 recent Premier League matches when they scored first and only won 52% of the matches under the 40-year-old coach after leading 1-0 (11 wins in 21 matches). Everything is better than last season but not as good as the time before that terrible season.
The age-old question repeats: "When will Man United return to their peak form?". In the past 12 months, many teams have marched to Old Trafford with the mentality of being ready for a victory. Even with teams in extreme crisis like Wolves, they also leave with points.
Ruben Amorim still believes this is a strong team, especially when the key players return after AFCON and once again, Man United fans place their trust, although it is still vague like many recent seasons.
