Manchester United cruised to a 4–1 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday evening, jumping to sixth in the Premier League standings.
The pressure was on the Red Devils to muster a response after only managing a 1–1 draw with West Ham United last time out. Going against the winless Wolves gave Ruben Amorim’s side the perfect opportunity to emphatically get back to winning ways.
Apart from allowing Jean‐Ricner Bellegarde to score the hosts’ first Premier League goal since October, Man Utd were clinical in Wolverhampton. A brace from Bruno Fernandes and goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount secured all three points.
The victory puts the 20-time English champions level on points with fourth-place Chelsea ahead of their clash with Bournemouth at Old Trafford next Monday.
Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Wolves (3-4-2-1)
GK: Senne Lammens—6.9: Will be unhappy to miss out on yet another clean sheet, but the goalkeeper was strong and decisive when called upon.
CB: Noussair Mazraoui—7.0: Several timely clearances and recoveries were the highlights of a rather unnoteworthy performance.
CB: Ayden Heaven—7.1: Bailed out in the first half by the offside flag on what could have been another defensive blunder, but finished the game strongly.
CB: Luke Shaw—7.2: Had a quiet night, though he deserves credit for kickstarting the counter attack that produced the match-winner.
RWB: Amad Diallo—7.9: Completely lost on Wolves’ equaliser. Otherwise, the 23-year-old had no trouble dancing past a struggling defence to create four chances in the match.
CM: Casemiro—7.3: Would have liked to produce better service going forward, but made up for it with his crucial defensive interventions.
CM: Bruno Fernandes—9.4: Once again the driving force of the attack. Fernandes was involved in three of his side’s four goals at Molineux.
LWB: Diogo Dalot—7.9: Responded to Amorim’s criticism of his attacking abilities with a goal and an assist in his last two appearances.
RF: Bryan Mbeumo—8.5: Always looked a threat to score when given enough time and space. Mbeumo’s pace and lethal finishing was no match for Wolves’ nervy backline.
LF: Mason Mount—7.4: Saved what was rather an underwhelming performance with a goal, though his giveaways in the first half will be a cause of concern for Amorim.
ST: Matheus Cunha—8.0: Bailed out by Fernandes to snag an assist against his former club, but was brilliant in the build-up to their second.
| Substitute | Rating (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
| Lisandro Martínez (69’ for Mazraoui) | 6.5 |
| Leny Yoro (69’ for Heaven) | 6.6 |
| Kobbie Mainoo (78’ for Casemiro) | 6.1 |
| Patrick Dorgu (84’ for Dalot) | N/A |
| Joshua Zirkzee (84’ for Mount) | N/A |
Subs not used: Altay Bayındır (GK), Tyrell Malacia, Manuel Ugarte, Shea Lacey.
Wolves (3-4-2-1)
Starting XI: Sam Johnstone; Yerson Mosquera, Emmanuel Agbadou, Toti Gomes; Ki-Jana Hoever, André, Ladislav Krejčí, David Møller Wolfe; Jhon Arias, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde; Jørgen Strand Larsen.
Subs used: Fer López, Tolu Arokodare, Mateus Mané, Hugo Bueno, Jackson Tchatchoua.
Player of the Match: Bruno Fernandes
Wolves 1–4 Man Utd: How It Unfolded at Molineux
As soon as the referee blew the opening whistle, Man Utd had Wolves pinned inside their own half. Even when Rob Edwards’s men did enough to regain possession, they lacked the quality and confidence to hold onto the ball for longer than a few seconds.
The hosts paid for their indecisiveness 25 minutes into the match. Casemiro dispossed André with a crunching tackle from behind, allowing Matheus Cunha to spring forward and get on the end of the loose ball at the top of the box. The forward then squared a poor pass for a late-arriving Fernandes, who lost his balance trying to track back for the ball.
The skipper quickly recovered, though, turned away from Wolves defender Emmanuel Agbadou and squeezed an off-balance finish into the back of the net. The goal was not Man Utd at their best, but it still put the visitors up 1–0.
Amorim’s side almost doubled their lead just four minutes later, but Cunha saw his attempt cleared off the line by Toti Gomes. Amad Diallo came racing forward for a follow-up strike only to slice his effort wide.
Wolves slowly found their footing as the clock ticked on, impressing on the counter attack before they stunningly found an equaliser in first-half stoppage time. What started as a seemingly inconsequential throw in ultimately ended with Jean-Ricner Bellegarde finishing off a hopeful ball from David Møller Wolfe.
Level at 1–1, Man Utd came out of the tunnel with their sights firmly set on goal. It took just six minutes for the Red Devils to muster a response, and it all started with Luke Shaw winning the ball back inside his own half.
In a matter of seconds, Cunha was then off on the counter attack and played a lovely ball in behind to find a streaking Diogo Dalot, who calmly picked out Mbeumo with a perfectly weighed pass across the box. With Wolves goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in no man’s land, the Man Utd forward buried the go-ahead goal.
Mount soon joined in on the goalscoring in style. The midfielder met a lofted through ball from Fernandes on the volley to give the Red Devils the 3–1 lead. The Portugal international added insult to injury when he buried a spot kick in the 82nd minute after Yerson Mosquera was penalised for a handball inside the penalty area.
The visitors calmly wrapped up the game and took their three points back to Manchester.
Wolves vs. Man Utd Half-Time Statistics
| Statistic | Wolves | Man Utd |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 40% | 60% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.28 | 1.03 |
| Total Shots | 3 | 14 |
| Shots on Target | 1 | 5 |
| Big Chances | 0 | 3 |
| Pass Accuracy | 72% | 84% |
| Fouls | 6 | 4 |
| Corners | 1 | 6 |
Wolves vs. Man Utd Full Time Statistics
| Statistic | Wolves | Man Utd |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 36% | 64% |
| Expected Goals (xG) | 0.41 | 4.10 |
| Total Shots | 8 | 27 |
| Shots on Target | 2 | 10 |
| Big Chances | 0 | 7 |
| Pass Accuracy | 72% | 85% |
| Fouls | 17 | 12 |
| Corners | 1 | 9 |
READ THE LATEST PREMIER LEAGUE NEWS, TRANSFER RUMOURS AND GOSSIP
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Wolves: Emphatic Night Shakes Up Premier League Table .