Gary Neville took aim at a “bizarre” decision by Ruben Amorim to score his third goal of the season as Manchester United were held to a disappointing 1-1 draw by Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Manchester United struggled against struggling Wolves
Manchester United’s eventful 2025 ended with a disastrous 1-1 draw at home to bottom-of-the-table Wolves, with Rob Edwards picking up his first points since taking over.
Three weeks after their 4-1 win against Molineux, Amorim’s side suffered without the night’s goalscorers Bruno Fernandes, Brian Mbeumo and Mason Mount.
The Red Devils were missing a total of eight senior players, but so were the beleaguered Wolves, whose opening goal from Joshua Zirkzee was deflected home by the man.
Ladislav Krejci got the visitors level just before the break, proving he was good enough to end an 11-game losing streak in the Premier League.
Wolves fans cheered wildly for their team as they picked up three points in the 19th game of a miserable season, the first positive result of Edwards’ reign.
As for United, Amorim’s side were unable to build on their win against Newcastle on Boxing Day, with Patrick Dorg’s 90th-minute goal ruled out for offside. No wonder there were boos at the final whistle.
It’s another step backwards for Amorim at Old Trafford, but he will wonder where he will find his consistency after another frustrating display. It remains to be seen whether he sees the draw with Wolves as an abolition of his 3-4-2-1 system. There is no denying that United have struggled under the manager’s regime.
Gary Neville slams Amorim’s ‘strange’ decision
Like many players at Old Trafford, Neville was calling for Man United to attack at Old Trafford, especially when Amorim changed their system in the second half. However, that attack had to be dealt with with Zirksee out because he got caught on a break in the second period.
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It remains to be seen whether his substitution was forced, but Neville saw another disappointing performance and was quick to call it “bizarre” on commentary for Sky Sports.
The former Manchester United player said: ”He will point to injuries and AFCON. But every team is in a similar situation. We don’t know what happened to Zirkzee. It would be a strange substitution if he wasn’t injured.”
Zirksee vs Wolves | statistics |
|---|---|
minutes | 45 |
the goal | 1 |
shot | 1 |
touch | twenty three |
The forward certainly remained clinical enough to hold his position at the break, especially considering Amorim was forced to go to young Bendito Mantat deep in the second half.
If Zirksee’s replacement is not due to injury, there could be more questions about his future. The forward has hardly been well-received this season and Brian Mbeumo’s return to the team after AFCON is unlikely to change that.
If there is interest, he could follow many others and leave the club not too long after completing a transfer first.
