Bruno Fernandes scored twice as Manchester United beat bottom club Wolves 4-1 at Molineux to move up to sixth in the Premier League.
Monday’s match was played against the backdrop of protests against Fosun International’s ownership of Wolves, with many fans only entering the stadium after 15 minutes had passed.
By that point, Diogo Dalot and Bryan Mbeumo had already gone close for United, with the Red Devils taking the lead after a litany of Wolves errors in the 25th minute.
Andre was all too easily dispossessed by Casemiro, and despite slipping after Matheus Cunha’s dismissal, Fernandes recovered to squeeze a shot under Sam Johnstone’s left glove.
Mbeumo, Cunha and Amad Diallo all missed chances to make it 2-0, and instead Wolves scored their first goal in more than eight hours of Premier League action, with Jean Ricner-Bellegarde sending home David Moller Wolfe’s cut-back in first-half stoppage time.
But United scored flawlessly in the second half and restored their lead in the 51st minute when Cunha’s pass released Dalot and his center was tapped into an empty net by Mbeumo.
Mason Mount made it 3-1 after a fine pass from Fernandes in the 62nd minute, and the United captain would get the second goal his performance deserved from the penalty spot.
After Diallo’s shot was blocked by Yerson Mosquera’s arm, Fernandes slotted into the bottom left corner from twelve yards to complete a win that moved United to within a point of fourth.
Wolves are already guaranteed to be bottom of the table on Christmas Day, having made the worst start to a season in Premier League history.
Data debriefing: unwanted piece of history for wolves
This was Wolves’ eighth consecutive defeat in the Premier League, matching their worst ever run in their history at any level.
They previously lost eight in a row between December 1981 and February 1982, when they were relegated from the old First Division.
And Wolves’ dismal start is almost unprecedented at all levels. They have made the worst start to any season in the top four tiers of English football, alongside Sheffield United in the Premier League in 2020-21, Southport in the Fourth Division in 1975-76, and both Barrow and Newport County in the Fourth Division in 1970-71.
United, meanwhile, have won three and drawn two of their last five away games in the Premier League, and the last time they went this unbeaten was in February 2022 (three wins, four losses).
The Red Devils’ 27 shots, with an expected goals (xG) ratio of 4.1, were the most in a Premier League match under Amorim. Wolves had eight shots, with an xG value of 0.41.
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