Pablo Sarabia's stunning free-kick secured Wolves' Premier League survival with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United.
2024/2025 Premier League
0-1
Match Report
Three days after their epic Europa League comeback against Lyon, it was asking too much of Manchester United to return to Old Trafford and hit anything close to the same heights.
A rather laborious encounter with Wolves in the April sunshine was settled by a goal of far greater quality from substitute Pablo Sarabia than this game deserved to bring Ruben Amorim's side back down to earth with a bump.
A club record 15th Premier League defeat of the season is the latest ignominy for United in a season in which they are already doomed to finish with their lowest points total in the competition. At least Europe offers a little light at the end of the tunnel.
For Wolves, the stats are altogether more positive. This was their fifth win in a row and one that gave the club their first league double over United since the 1979-80 season as they moved level with their opponents on 38 points. What a fantastic job Vitor Pereira is doing at Molineux.
All in all though, it was a little flat after the 5-4 drama against Lyon. Boredom after the bedlam.
There was dissent too from some fans in the Sir Bobby Charlton Stand who held up placards and messages in front of the United executives before kick-off and half-time protesting against ticket price rises and plans to relocate some of them from this part of the ground next season to make way for a VIP dugout club.
Amorim made five changes to the side that put their fans through the wringer for 120 minutes against Lyon.
It included handing a debut to 20-year-old defender Tyler Fredricson and a first Old Trafford start to Harry Amass. Noussair Mazraoui and Victor Lindelof, who both left the ground at half-time on Thursday for personal reasons, were named in the line-up.
Pereira changed his starting XI for the first time in six games, bringing in Santiago Bueno for Matt Doherty at the back and recalling Matheus Cunha who will attract plenty of interest this summer from a number of clubs including United.
It was little surprise that Pereira had kept faith with the same players over the last five games considering Wolves were unbeaten during that sequence, winning the last four.
Still, the stakes could have been a lot higher and that's how it felt for much of a game that had a distinct end-of-season feel to it.
The only effort on target from either side in a subdued first half came from Christian Eriksen whose 25-yard free kick was tipped over the bar by Jose Sa just after the half hour mark when Mazraoui's clever turn was met with a crude foul by for Emmanuel Agbadou.
United created the better chances. Patrick Dorgu's cross to the far post invited a touch from one of his teammates but bounced harmlessly wide, and then Alejandro Garnacho fed Kobbie Mainoo in a promising position on the edge of the box just before half-time.
It was a little further out from where Mainoo scored against Lyon on Thursday, but the technique was similar as he cut inside onto his right foot and tried to curl the ball inside the far post. This time it was narrowly off target, however.
Amass looks more comfortable with each passing game, and was one of United's more prominent players as he made his third appearance in a week. Fredricson didn't put a foot wrong either as he did a good job of keeping Jordan Strand Larsen under wraps.
Cunha produced a couple of neat turns on the Wolves left but the visitors created very little to cause Andre Onana concern before the break.
Rasmus Hojlund, who started this game with just one goal in 28 hours and 18 minutes of football, briefly threatened to make the breakthrough when he nutmegged Agbadou and bore down on goal, but Toti was covering and made an excellent tackle to deny him.
Nelson Semedo then produced one of the better attempts on goal, even though it was his own goal as a stray back-pass almost caught out Sa.
But Wolves had clearly moved up a gear since the first half and went close in the 58th minute when Lindelof and Strand Larsen challenged at a corner, the ball glancing off the United defender's shoulder and flying too close to the far post for comfort.
Amorim responded by making a triple substitution, sending on Bruno Fernandes – starting a league game on the bench for the first time since January 2022 – Diogo Dalot and Mason Mount for Manuel Ugarte, Dorgu and Mainoo.
It almost paid off when Fernandes and Eriksen combined for Garnacho to cross to the far post where a lunging Hojlund just failed to connect. It was the Dane's last contribution as Amorim made another change by sending on Chido Obi to make it three youth-team players on the pitch.
Fernandes fired well wide from Garnacho's pullback before Pereira made two changes of his own, sending on Rodrigo Gomes and Sarabia for Semedo and Strand Larsen.
It was Sarabia who broke the deadlock just three minutes later with Wolves first attempt on target, and what an effort it was.
Eriksen was booked for a foul on Cunha on the edge of the box and Sarabia sized up his free kick before curling the ball left-footed over the United wall and into the top corner with Onana well beaten.
Fernandes wasted the best chances that United could fashion before the end, but this time there was to be no late comeback.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
0' Highlight from Man Utd vs Wolves
9' Cunha directly shoots from the free-kick but it is cleared by defender
12' Mainoo wriggle his way through defenders and goes down but nothing is given
26' Amass delivers a dangerous left-wing cross into the box which misses Hojlund
30' Eriksen takes Dorgu's delivery but Marshall Munetsi clears the danger
33' Eriksen steps up to take a free-kick but it is saved by keeper
44' Mainoo curls a right-footer inches wide of the post from 20 yards
46' Hojlund's shot from a narrow angle is wide
53' The Reds spring a quick breakaway as Hojlund advances down the left channel
57' Larsen makes contact with Gomes but it deflects behind for another corner
63' Garnacho play a low cross which narrowly evades Hojlund sliding in at back post
73' Garnacho's cross finds Bruno but he gets his effort all wrong and it goes behind
77' Sarabia curls the free-kick and have the ball in the net! Man Utd 0-1 Wolves
83' Garnacho cuts it back for Mount but the substitute's shot goes over the crossbar
86' Eriksen drills in a cross-cum-shot but Mount's attempt is wide
94' Match Event for Man Utd vs Wolves
Line-ups
Man Utd XI: Eriksen, Lindelof, Onana, Mazraoui, Ugarte, Garnacho, Højlund, Mainoo, Tyler Fredricson, Patrick Dorgu, Harry Amass
Subs: Heaton, Evans, Casemiro, Maguire, Bruno Fernandes, Mount, Dalot, Yoro, Chido Obi-Martin
Wolves XI: Daniel Bentley, Semedo, Santiago Bueno, Marshall Munetsi, Jørgen Strand Larsen, Matheus Cunha, Rayan Aït-Nouri, Toti Gomes, Emmanuel Agbadou, João Gomes, André
Subs: Sarabia, Doherty, Tom King, Doyle, Boubacar Traoré, Rodrigo Gomes, Nasser Djiga, Carlos Forbs, Mateus Mané