Man Utd's defeat to Wolves proves Jose Mourinho was right about ONE thing

Posted Wednesday, April 03, 2019 by Dailystar.co.uk

Man Utd's defeat to Wolves proves Jose Mourinho was right about ONE thing
Jose Mourinho knows the tough task Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is facing at Manchester United (Pic: GETTY)

MANCHESTER UNITED suffered a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Wolves on Tuesday night as their problems previously highlighted by Jose Mourinho shone through.

Manchester United were lucky to edge a 2-1 win against Watford before the international break and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer made no secret of that.

That game at Old Trafford was his first in charge since being made permanent boss.

Solskjaer has worked wonders with this United team since taking over from Mourinho before Christmas but there’s no getting away from the fact he needs money to spend on his defence. But first he needs to acknowledge where he must improve on the pitch.

Mourinho was vocal during his time in charge of the Red Devils in his desperate need for an improved defence.

It doesn’t matter if you’ve got the world’s best goalkeeper in David de Gea in between the sticks - if your centre-back pairing is all over the place you’ve got no chance.

Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof struggled to handle a lively Diogo Jota and Raul Jimenez all evening at Molineux and not for the first time.

The pair ran rings round the defence in the FA Cup last month as Jimenez and Jota both found the net.

And tonight’s victory of the same 2-1 scoreline shows despite Ed Woodward’s reluctance to listen to Mourinho’s demands of a new centre-back, the Portuguese was completely right to vent his frustrations.

Mourinho claimed finishing second behind Manchester City last year was one of his greatest achievements.

For a man who has won titles in Spain, Italy, Portugal and the Premier League it may seem like a bizarre claim.

But maybe only now is Solskjaer and the rest of the United fanbase, along with executive vice-chairman Woodward, realising just how true those words might be.

And fans were quick to make that suggestion on Twitter at full-time after witnessing a third defeat in four matches in all competitions as Jota's strike and Smalling's goal cancelled out Scott McTominay's goal in an evening that also saw Ashley Young sent off.

“Mourinho was more than right to question the overall quality of the team and the commitment of some players,” said one fan.

“All the things which Mourinho said makes so much more sense now. Taking this team to 2nd spot in #premierLeague was his biggest achievement,” said another.

“The thing is, mourinho was 100% right about what we needed and that hasn't changed. Ole just got more out of them for a period this season.”

Solskjaer claimed he was happy with his squad back in January with no apparant need for new signings.

But a poor run of results will now make Solskjaer see Mourinho was spot on with where United need to strengthen.

And it seems if Woodward doesn’t listen to Solskjaer’s needs at the end of the season the ‘Baby-faced Assassin’ won’t be seeing out the entirety of his three-year deal.

United remain fifth in the Premier League table, level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and one ahead of Chelsea in sixth.

Speaking after the match, Solskjaer said: "I think we played some fantastic stuff, first 20 minutes we should have been two or three up and I'm not exaggerating.

"We didn't pounce on big moments in the game.

"Scott McTominay played really well tonight, he's been excellent. He gave us a goal threat, energy and legs - very pleased with him.

"There's a couple of mistakes from us. We gave them that first goal, we have to be honest."