Joao Moutinho frustrates Jose Mourinho as Wolves bounce back against Man Utd for well-deserved point

It has been a long time away for Sir Alex Ferguson from the stadium that bears his name on one stand and when he made his return today, the whole of Old Trafford turned to applaud their greatest-ever manager into his seat - although there are some things that do not change.
On the back of three wins away from home, this was supposed to be the fresh launch of United’s season at Old Trafford, post defeat to Tottenham, but like so much of what has followed Ferguson it was another stalling and more frustration. They played an exceptional Wolverhampton Wanderers side who were never intimidated by the stage on which they found themselves, but as Ferguson will himself observe, these are the games his club has to win.
There was much of this game when Wolves played the more attractive, ambitious football and they were rewarded in the 53rd minute when Joao Moutinho stroked an equaliser past David De Gea at the end of a fine piece of counter-attacking. Ruben Neves had won the ball, and Helder Costa had got round Luke Shaw to cross it – both of these Wolves players excelling at Old Trafford.
The problem for Jose Mourinho is not just that the standard of the teams outside the elite has risen dramatically since Ferguson’s years of dominance, it is that his own big names are not delivering the individual brilliance needed to make the difference. Alexis Sanchez was substituted after another forgettable afternoon. Romelu Lukaku could not find the touch to score the goal to win the game. Paul Pogba’s form lurched from the perceptive to the negligent.

It was Pogba who made United’s goal for Fred but it was also Pogba who was robbed for the equaliser. The pressure to make things happen for United seems to be persistently on his mind. For Neves and Moutinho in the Wolves midfield, the instinct is more to control. Fred’s goal on 18 minutes came against the run of play, made by a smart pass from Pogba who tucked a clearing header into a clear channel where his team-mate could take the ball first time with his right foot.
At the end United pushed hard, but there was always the danger of Adama Traore on the counter-attack, a substitute with such ferocious pace that it does not always give him the time to make the right decision. A De Gea save from the Spanish winger at the end stopped it from being worse, and it was not the only save he had to make.