Julen Lopetegui: Wolves deserved more in Manchester United defeat

An improved performance seemed to be helping Wolves pick up an important point at Molineux, before Marcus Rashford’s 76th minute winner.

Several spurned chances saw Wolves end 2022 with defeat – and record their first loss under Lopetegui – but the head coach felt his side should have come away with a result.

“First of all, we are disappointed with the result because we think we deserved more,” Lopetegui said.

“I want to highlight the form and belief of the players and the way they fought a big team in Manchester United.

“We were working to beat them. We have to improve but in the end we deserved more against a very big team.”

Raul Jimenez, who came off the bench late on, had a huge chance to equaliser in injury time but David de Gea made a superb save to deny his close range header.

Although Lopetegui is pleased with his side’s display, he felt that their reaction to going behind could have been more measured.

“Always, when you suffer a goal, it’s a pity,” he added.

“I have my opinion and in the second half they didn’t have chances. I think that the match was arriving in a key moment where we would have a lot of space to run.

“But it was a pity that they scored and in the last 15 minutes of the match we played with our heart instead of our mind. We had a chance to draw the match.

“In the first half, in my opinion, we had four or five situations where we could make a better decision.

“In the end, one bad decision or bad pass loses that situation. We have to improve thinking of the next match.”

Referee Robert Jones came under fire from the home supporters for several inconsistencies – including a situation where Nelson Semedo was booked and Casemiro was not for very similar offences.

When asked if he felt the referee was consistent enough, Lopetegui said: “It’s a good question but I can’t answer it, because I am part of Wolves.

“We have suffered. Nelson’s yellow card was key because he was playing at a very high level.

“In the second half there was a big risk one-against-one against players like Rashford and Fernandes or Malacia. We decided to change him and that was a key decisio because he was playing well.

“The referee’s job is not easy, it’s the most difficult job. We deserved more (injury time) minutes because in the second half there was a lot of breaks.”