Manchester United have to play better, manager Erik ten Hag has stressed after they struggled and registered a 1-0 win over Wolves in their Premier League opening game.

Erik ten Hag had stressed the need for his team to “raise the bar” before kick-off, but it was a passive display from United in front of their own supporters. It took a good pass from Bruno Fernandes to unlock things, Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross finding Raphael Varane.

“It was a tough game. We can do a lot of things better, but I also see a lot of positive things. I saw six or seven good high-ball regains, and then we have to take more from the turnovers. In a low block, we defended our lives, and we survived it.”

“You have to find the foundation of the season and collect points. If we want to keep collecting points, we will have to play better than we did. But there were positives: the defensive organisation, the clean sheet, and the mentality. We found a way to win,” Ten Hag said.

Expectations for Wolves

Meanwhile, expectations for Wolves had been low coming into the contest, with the departure of Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the season meaning O’Neil had only had days to prepare his team. His was a team without a single new signing in the starting lineup.

But Wolves competed impressively, setting up well defensively and posing more problems on the counter-attack than United could cause at the other end. Indeed, the away side could easily have led at the interval if they had taken their chances.

Fine work by Cunha, eluding Lisandro Martinez with ease, set up Pablo Sarabia in the left channel, but his effort was deflected just wide. The Spaniard returned the favour soon after, but Cunha then screwed his shot wide of Onana’s other post.