Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick gives Edinson Cavani reason behind Mason Greenwood substitution in Wolves defeat

Speaking in his post-match press conference, as quoted by the Manchester Evening News, Manchester United boss Ralf Rangnick claimed that he substituted Mason Greenwood in the defeat against Wolves to keep Edinson Cavani on the pitch.

The Red Devils lost their first game of 2022 to the Midlands club, and there was a lot that went wrong on the night. Too many players failed to understand the role they were playing in the team and were clueless about how to go forward and how to fall back.

But Greenwood, who had a decent night out, was creating the most chances for us. His enthusiasm and lively nature on the ball led to the biggest chance of the first half, which Jadon Sancho ended up squandering rather than playing it to the on-rushing Cristiano Ronaldo.

Thus, there were understandably loud boos ringing around the stadium after the 20-year-old was substituted after just 15 minutes into the second half. Rangnick explained his reasons for doing the same after the game.

“The question was shall I take off Mason or shall I take off Edi (Cavani); that was the question. We decided to keep Edi as the more offensive, the more striker of the two on the pitch. I take off Mason; that was my call.

“We could also have done it differently, but it shows how highly how the fans like Mason as a homegrown player and, as I said, his effort and performance was not outstanding. but at least he was one of the better players today.”

Needless substitution?

A change was needed in the first half, and it was a good idea to bring on Bruno Fernandes. However, Greenwood was the best player on the pitch till that point. Taking him out of the game took the sting out of our attack and it all went downhill from there.

Instead, Rangnick could have brought off Jadon Sancho, who was anonymous for large parts of the game. The former Borussia Dortmund did eventually come off but it was too late by then. Greenwood has proven in the past that he is a difference-maker and can turn draws into victories.

The idea behind keeping Edinson Cavani was also a fair decision, but the Uruguayan international was not having a lot of service to feed on. For a large part of the game, he was trying to mark Ruben Neves in the midfield line rather than trying to hold up the ball and link up play. These aspects cost us the game, and Rangnick his first defeat in the Man United dugout.

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The team selection has been questionable for a while, as has been the persistence of a particular formation. Something has to give if we are to secure a Top 4 spot this season and the German boss needs to always play his best players, regardless of their stature. Sancho is the big summer signing, but Greenwood might be the one to garner points for us in the coming weeks. Regardless, the English duo would be hoping to put things right when they face Aston Villa in two weeks.

And no one would have said things would be easy for Rangnick when he took over the helm from Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. This result should, however, serve as a lesson and hopefully something we can learn from in the coming months.