Manchester United drew 1-1, missing out on back-to-back wins! Zieler’s goal was booed, and Amrolín’s reversal backfired

Manchester United again disappointed in their final 2025 match, drawing 1-1 at Old Trafford against Wolves, missing the chance for a second Premier League consecutive win under Ruben Amrolín, while Wolves ended an 11-match losing streak. British media quipped that some issues at Manchester United remain constant. Zieler, the goalscorer, was a perfect example: after scoring via a fortunate deflection, he then assisted an own goal that helped the visitors level. When substituted, home fans once again greeted him with boos.

Before the match, Amrolín insisted he wouldn’t revert to a three-center-back formation, yet he contradicted himself. Although he named a 4-2-3-1 starting lineup, the team effectively played in a strict 3-4-3 shape during the game.

Zieler replaced the injured Mason Mount and earned another start. Patrick Dogu, who scored the winner against Newcastle United, returned to the left flank, while Luke Shaw and Diogo Dalot, nominally fullbacks, rotated backward to form part of the three-center-back line.

Amrolín explained Mount’s injury: “He felt some discomfort, but I believe it’s not serious and shouldn’t require a long recovery. However, we can’t be completely sure. He wasn’t ready for this match, but now we need to focus on the game.”

Regarding Zieler’s start, Amrolín said: “He just needs to do what he does best and show his talent. He is indeed a gifted player. When facing opponents one-on-one, he must be more assertive because in other areas, he’s already performing well and fans like him. So, he just needs to do his job and enjoy playing.”

When asked about Manchester United’s formation, Amrolín replied: “We will field 11 players; the formation itself isn’t the most important factor. What really matters is the team’s fighting spirit and control of the game’s tempo. We can adjust our formation anytime during the match.”

However, Amrolín’s tactical setup gave Wolves the upper hand. Rob Edwards also used a three-center-back system against Manchester United and implemented a key strategy: when United had more possession, their attacks were stifled by Wolves’ compact defense.

Manchester United’s first-half performance infuriated Amrolín. His highly rated new star Cunha was booed by the away fans facing his former club and showed a lackluster display. The Red Devils’ coach again criticized Zieler’s defensive awareness, but he would eventually regret demanding so much from him…

In the 27th minute, Zieler seemed poised to be Manchester United’s hero. After Eden Haven intercepted the ball upfront and cut inside, Zieler failed to connect with a teammate at the edge of the box, but the ball rebounded to him. The Dutch forward controlled it and shot; the ball deflected off Wolves player Ladislav Krejci and went into goal behind Jose Sa, giving Manchester United a 1-0 lead. This was Zieler’s second goal in 16 months, ending a poor run of 15 consecutive home Premier League games without scoring.

Ten minutes later, Manchester United striker Szeszko, who had scored twice in 16 appearances, headed a set-piece from a teammate but was unlucky as the ball hit the post and bounced out.

Before halftime, Wolves took a corner from the right side. Zieler, defending at the near post, headed the ball clear but directed it toward the far post where Krejci, who had earlier caused the deflection leading to United’s goal, received the “return gift.” Unmarked, Krejci headed the ball into the far corner, leveling the score 1-1. Wolves have scored in both matches against Manchester United, with two of their 11 goals coming from games against the Red Devils, highlighting the defensive issues in Amrolín’s team.

Exactly one year ago, in a 0-2 home defeat to Newcastle, Zieler was substituted off in the 31st minute to loud applause from the Old Trafford crowd, which embarrassed him. A full 365 days later, his performance was much better this time: he scored a goal and lasted 15 minutes longer before leaving the pitch.

However, after halftime, when the DJ announced Zieler was substituted for youngster Jack Fletcher, some home fans responded with warm applause. Zieler started mainly due to his experience and the lack of alternatives at Manchester United. His lucky goal won’t change his struggles under Amrolín; having scored 9 goals in 18 months, Zieler’s career at United seems destined to end soon.

What embarrassed Manchester United even more was that they failed to improve after substitutions against Wolves, arguably the weakest Premier League team statistically. Amrolín could argue he was missing three African Cup of Nations internationals, but Wolves also had two players participating in the tournament.

Wolves have shown great resilience recently, narrowly losing by one goal in their last three away matches against Aston Villa, Arsenal, and Liverpool. Drawing with Manchester United might be a fair result. Ironically, Wolves’ last Premier League win was last season’s victory over the Red Devils at Old Trafford!

Both teams had chances to win in the second half. Szeszko headed over again from Casemiro’s lofted pass but the angle was too central, and Jose Sa held firmly. Minutes later, Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera showed Szeszko how to head with real threat, nearly scoring an own goal that the goalkeeper saved on the line, denying Manchester United a gift goal.

In the 63rd minute, Wolves came close when Krejci’s poked shot was saved by Sena Lamens, who then heroically blocked Mosquera’s follow-up attempt on the ground.

Fans in the West Stand chanted their trademark “Attack, attack, attack,” but Amrolín chose to bring on center-back Lenny Yaro.

In the final minute, Szeszko’s feint and shot inside the box forced Jose Sa into a fumble, and Dogu scored on the rebound. Unfortunately, Dogu was clearly offside, so the goal was disallowed, and Manchester United missed a last-minute winner.

As the final whistle blew, boos echoed around the stadium. In their last five home games, Manchester United failed to win four times against Everton, West Ham, Bournemouth, and Wolves. Away fans chanted, “At least we got a point,” which was humiliating for United, marking their third consecutive year without a win in their final match.

Data shows that in Manchester United’s last seven Premier League matches, they took the lead five times but were forced to settle for draws. Under Amrolín, United have only a 52% win rate when leading 1-0, winning just 11 of 21 games with a one-goal advantage. Amrolín said after the match: “We must fix this problem because it’s not the first time it’s happened. The game’s rhythm was clearly not smooth; we tried measures but didn’t get the desired results.”

Amrolín concluded: “It was indeed a strange match. We knew this game was different from the Newcastle one; today we needed more creativity to create scoring chances. We struggled a lot to win possession in the first half as the opposition packed the midfield. The team worked hard but the performance was still not ideal. We must recover quickly for the next game. We can’t make any excuses; I fielded two forwards but we conceded from a set-piece. Today was definitely not Manchester United’s lucky day.”