WOLVES 2-0 MANCHESTER UNITED: Bruno Fernandes’ ridiculous red card and Andre Onana’s pathetic goalkeeping combine to see United implode in nightmare second half at Molineux
Plenty of people will have endured a nightmarish Christmas, having burnt the turkey or offended a relative with a crude joke, but not many will have had a worse festive period than Ruben Amorim.
Amorim has been desperately trying to get a grip of the job he inherited at Manchester United. He has been drilling his new players on the training pitch. He has been setting the ground rules while trying to motivate the troops.
The ex-Sporting Lisbon boss arrived brimming with excitement, convinced he could turn things around and make his mark on one of the world’s biggest clubs. He decided to stamp his authority on things by freezing out the local hero, Marcus Rashford.
Rashford has now been missing from four straight match day squads and was absent at Molineux. That storyline has been and gone, his omission no longer a surprise. But the desired effect of pushing aside a United stalwart, who has been at the club since he was a child and who is on £325,000 per week, has not materialised.
Amorim wants to plant his flag and change the rotten culture at a club all too familiar with mediocrity. On this evidence, he still has an awful lot to do, because with Rashford sat at home, Amorim was let down by two of his most senior and important players.
Bruno Fernandes should know better. He is the United captain and the appointed leader on the pitch. He also doesn’t need a good memory to recall how damaging a lack of discipline can be, having been shown a red card in back-to-back matches against Tottenham and Porto as September turned to October.
Back then, we were told he was unlucky and that it wouldn’t happen again. Well, it did. Fernandes was on a yellow card when he flew into a challenge against Wolves skipper Nelson Semedo, clearly catching him on the ankle. He put on the usual show of disbelief as referee Tony Harrington produced the red card, but we all knew: Fernandes had failed in his most basic of duties again.
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United were so nearly punished minutes later, only for Jorgen Strand Larsen’s eagerness to save them, as he strayed ahead of the ball, allowing VAR to rule out his close-range header for offside. But Wolves didn’t have to wait much longer for their opener – and they had another senior United player to thank.
Matheus Cunha – the game’s stand-out performer – couldn’t believe his luck when his inswinging corner flew over the crowded penalty area and nestled in the far corner. Rather than focusing on the ball, Onana was too busy shoving the Wolves player in front of him, in an vein attempt to try and manufacture a free-kick. It didn’t come and he was left with egg on his face.
It was the 10th goal United had conceded from a corner in the Premier League this season. Only Wolves have conceded more. It shows the challenge facing Amorim, who seems to be focusing on the tactical side of things – namely getting his players used to the 3-4-3 formation – rather than the basics.
While Vitor Pereira is enjoying a textbook example of the fabled New Manager Bounce, having began his reign with successive wins, his Portuguese counterpart’s very short-lived honeymoon period is over. His substitutions made a difference, as United pushed for an equaliser, but it wasn’t to be in the West Midlands fog as Hwang Hee-chan added a second in the 98th minute on the counter-attack.
Victory pulled Wolves out of the relegation zone, but defeat – their third in succession – left United in 14th place, just seven points better off and 11 points adrift of the Premier League’s top four. They will be delighted to wave goodbye to 2024.
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