Manchester United’s new number seven had a difficult debut in the Red Devils’ Premier League opener against Wolves.
Erik ten Hag’s new look midfield showed major flaws, with the attack-minded combination of Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes leaving too many gaps in behind.
Manchester United won the game 1-0, with Raphael Varane scoring the 76th minute winner.
Wolves were desperately unlucky, attempting 23 shots at goal, with Manchester United’s wide open midfield leaving too many chances.
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‘Non-existent’
Gary Neville hit out on Sky Sports to describe Manchester United’s midfield as ‘non-existent’ in his post-match analysis.
“Manchester United’s midfield was absolutely non-existent, they were ripped apart by Wolves,” Neville said.
It was hard to argue, and Erik ten Hag sought to make changes in the 65th minute. Mount was taken off and replaced with Christian Eriksen. Eriksen sat deeper and United took a little more control of the game, going on to score the winner.
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Mason Mount debut
It’s hard to place any blame on Mason Mount for his own performance, we simply point out that the system he deployed in was not fit for purpose.
This can be illustrated by the numbers from Mount, which show how little possession he had.
Mount completed only 17 passes from 21 attempts. He did not create a single goalscoring chance, and touched the ball only 30 times in total.
As he was so high up the pitch, Mount did not make a single tackle either, although he did track back well at the end of the first half to recover a ball inside United’s penalty area and shut down Wolves’ attack.
United were fortunate against Wolves that the away side lacked ruthlessness and failed to score. Most other teams would have made Erik ten Hag’s side play.
There is a lot for the manager to consider ahead of United’s visit to Tottenham on Saturday night, and Mount’s role is at the top of his list.