Manchester United moved up to sixth in the Premier League table with a dominant 4-1 win over bottom-club Wolves at Molineux.
Match Report
Monday's game was played against the backdrop of protests against Fosun International's ownership of Wolves, with many fans not entering the stadium until 15 minutes had passed.
By that point, Diogo Dalot and Bryan Mbeumo had already gone close for United, and the Red Devils went ahead following a litany of Wolves mistakes in the 25th minute.
Andre was dispossessed all too easily by Casemiro, and despite slipping following Matheus Cunha's lay-off, Fernandes recovered to squeeze a shot under Sam Johnstone's left glove.
Mbeumo, Cunha and Amad Diallo all passed up chances to make it 2-0, and instead, Wolves got their first goal in over eight hours of Premier League action, with Jean Ricner-Bellegarde steering David Moller Wolfe's cutback home in first-half stoppage time.
But United streaked clear in the second half, restoring their lead in the 51st minute as Cunha's pass released Dalot, and his centre was tapped into an empty net by Mbeumo.
Mason Mount made it 3-1 following a lovely chipped 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 the arm of Yerson Mosquera, Fernandes slotted into the bottom-left corner from 12 yards to cap a win that lifts United to within a point of fourth.
Wolves are already guaranteed to be bottom of the table on Christmas Day, having made the joint-worst start to a season in Premier League history.
Data Debrief: Unwanted slice of history for Wolves
This was Wolves' eighth consecutive Premier League defeat, matching the worst-ever streak 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 across all levels. They have made the joint-worst start to any campaign 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 Premier League games, last enjoying a longer such unbeaten run in February 2022 (three wins, four losses).
The Red Devils' 27 shots, with an expected goals (xG) tally of 4.1, were their most in a Premier League game under Amorim. Wolves had eight shots, with an xG value of 0.41.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Wolves fans boycott the opening 15 mins to protest against Fosun's running
8' Diogo Dalot through on goal but Sam Johnstone palms his shot wide
25' GOAL! Cunha assists Bruno to open the scoring! Wolves 0-1 Man Utd
29' Matheus Cunha's rebound effort is cleared off the line by Toti
37' Amad Diallo cuts in and shoots, deflected behind by Emmanuel Agbadou
38' First yellow of the game as Mbeumo wipes out Arias from behind to stop a break
44' Larsen catches United defender Ayden Heaven and gets a yellow card
46' Amad Diallo picks out Matheus Cunha, who hammers a shot over the bar
47' GOAL! Bellegarde equalizes right before the half-time break! Wolves 1-1 Man Utd
49' Match Event for Wolves vs Man Utd
51' GOAL! Mbeumo fires home from Dalot's assist! Wolves 1-2 Man Utd
62' GOAL! Mount doubles the lead with a side-footed volley! Wolves 1-3 Man Utd
76' Fernandes' free-kick hits the wall and goes out for a corner
78' United bring on Kobbie Mainoo for Casemiro
82' Penalty Goal! Mosquera handball and Bruno nets from the spot! Wolves 1-4 Man Utd
83' Match Event for Wolves vs Man Utd
Line-ups
Wolves XI: Sam Johnstone, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Jhon Arias, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Ladislav Krejci, Hoever, Toti Gomes, David Møller Wolfe, Emmanuel Agbadou, Yerson Mosquera, André
Subs: Jose Sa, Hwang Hee-Chan, Santiago Bueno, Tolu Arokodare, Tawanda Chirewa, Hugo Bueno, Jackson Tchatchoua, Fer López, Mateus Mané
Man Utd XI: Casemiro, Luke Shaw, Bruno Fernandes, Mount, Mazraoui, Dalot, Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo, Senne Lammens, Amad Diallo Traore, Ayden Heaven
Subs: Altay Bayındır, Ugarte, Lisandro Martinez, Malacia, Zirkzee, Mainoo, Yoro, Patrick Dorgu, Shea Lacey
dougiefresh
147
MOUNT IS COMING BACK TO HIS BEST FORM 3 goals in his last 4 starts. 💥⚽️
dougiefresh
136
No Man United player has scored more Premier League goals than Bryan Mbeumo (6) this season 🤷
Mazvita
83
Trust me Man united will play champions league next season
Kunkunmaster
68
at least we can sleep and rest... it has been awhile 💯
donreal1990
46
theater of dream for real..... real man united fans won't pass this comment 🙏, just a thumbs 👍
Haaacimpsu
36
I saw mount from chelsea tonight what a brilliant performance from him and our captain
kingrafa
28
We won but I'm entirely happy with our performance. We will struggle a lot if we play like this against a good and an organized team. United could have beaten wolves 9 goals to nill if we were an organized and clinical team. This is one of the games where we could have had some crazy scoreline, because wolves were full of mistakes and lacked confidence. They played and defended like shit!
VinUnited
13
A real Captain performance 🔥🔥🔥