Manchester United and Erik ten Hag started the season with a home victory in front of a packed Old Trafford but it was a performance that gave them plenty to ponder rather than a platform. The last campaign began with two defeats and much outcry about whether Ten Hag could turn things around and the atmosphere felt flat on Monday after beating Wolves. It was thoroughly undeserved and slightly more clinical opponents would have been out of sight. A trip to Spurs on Saturday evening should provide a fascinating barometer of where United stand.
The way Wolves’ Matheus Cunha glided through a nonexistent midfield is a cause for concern. Casemiro was brought in last summer to provide the steel needed to remove a soft underbelly but he was often left to put out fires alone on Monday, with the new pairing of Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount ahead of him.
