Julen Lopetegui pinpoints one refereeing ‘error’ that cost Wolves in 1-0 defeat to Man Utd
and live on Freeview channel 276
Julen Lopetegui was far from impressed by one particular refereeing decision made in Wolverhampton Wanderers’ 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. Wolves’ head coach felt the booking suffered by right-back Nelson Semedo was the wrong call and admitted the yellow card changed the game for his side in a tactical sense.
The Portuguese defender put on a strong showing in the first half as he did well to deal with the threat of United winger Alejandro Garnacho. Semedo also progressed up the field on numerous occasions, causing problems for the visitors, but Robert Jones showed yellow in the 26th minute for what looked like an alright challenge.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThat was not the only choice made by the officials that raised a few eyebrows, as the Molineux faithful felt most decisions went against their side. Quizzed post-match about the referees, Lopetegui said: “It’s a good question, and I cannot answer it [properly] but in my opinion, of course, we have suffered a key yellow card for Nelson [Semedo].
“It was key because he was playing at a very high level and in the second half he was at big risk against players in one-on-one [situations], with Rashford, Bruno [Fernandes], or Malacia. We decided to change him and it was a key decision. After that it was a more difficult job.”
It was indeed after Semedo left the field that United opened the scoring – a goal from substitute Marcus Rashford that turned out to be decisive for the result. Steaming down the same flank Semedo would have been on, the left, Rashford cut in and played a quick one-two with Fernandes before striking in at the near post.
Rashford thought he had a second in the 85th minute as he ran through and scored at the second time of asking one-on-one with Sa, but it was disallowed for a handball. The goalkeeper was unlucky to deflect the ball back up toward the United forward, who handled it before flicking it home.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide Ad“It was a different match in the last 15 minutes,” Lopetegui admitted. “I think we played with heart more than mind. We had a chance to draw today. I want to highlight the belief and the way they fought a big team like Manchester United. We have to improve but I think we deserved more against a very big team.”
Wolves will not have to wait long to return to Premier League action once more as they head away to local rivals Aston Villa on Wednesday evening.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.