Wolves
The Red Devils started their year 2020 with a defeat against Wolves 1-0 at Old Trafford. Wolverhampton Wanderers was the dominating side as they took 19 shots from which 6 were on goal. They had the maximum number of corners 8, as they were quite fluent in the attacking third.
DDG was brilliant as always with his amazing saves but he couldn’t save the shot from Moutinho in the 82nd minute of the game, it was a wonderful right footed strike from outside the box which ended in the bottom left corner of the goal. Starting the new calendar year with a loss was not their plan as it could affect their race for the champions league spot.
Aston Villa
Their second game of the year was against Aston Villa at home in the FA cup. This third round tie was decided by an early lead given by McTominay which was assisted by Fred with an intelligent cross. United were in control of the ball with 53% of possession which held Aston Villa from creating more attacking chances. This win meant they were through to the fourth round of the tournament.
Few days later they visited Villa for PL matchup where they continued their goal scoring run with their midfield magician Bruno scoring two goals in each half. Little did they knew about Villa’s new addition P. Coutinho on loan from FC Barcelona who was substituted in 68th minute started creating chances for them. Coutinho played important role in both the gaols, creating the first one in 77th minute and scoring the second 4 minutes later. United were not able to contain a two goal lead which resulted in a draw and only got one point.
Brentford
Heading Brentford with a draw and hope of winning the match, United made a satisfactory start to the game and ended the first half 0-0. From the start of second half United showed integrity and created chances in the midfield later in the half Fred assisted Elanga with a through ball which led to the opener. Following the 1st goal Red Devil’s constant pressure rewarded them with two goals from Greenwood and Rashford and ended 3-1. Quite a relief for them as they secured their first Pl win of the year.
West Ham
United next welcomed their former manager’s team for the last game of the month. United had a good start to the match and were trying to put the pressure on the opposition. The Hammers were equivalent and did their bit in the defence which kept the score 0-0 right till the end. Entering Fergie time United started to put pressure and created goal scoring opportunities with Martial missing one from the centre of the box and few seconds later Rashford stepped up and scored a late tap in assisted by Cavani. This win took them to the fourth position but are still 19 points behind their local rivals Manchester City.
M. Rashford
In the recent two games their forward Marcus Rashford seems to have found his momentum back. As he scored in both the matches after being quite for 9 games. His last goal came against Tottenham back in October where United won comfortably 3-0. Under the new manager Rashford has been improving and such form of his will be very helpful to the Red devils for confirming a Champions League spot for the next season.
