Manchester United took down one of the worst teams in Premier League history on Monday night, beating Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-1 at Molyneux thanks to a second-half flurry.
Manager Ruben Amorim saw his
team recover from a flaky first half finish and score three goals against Wolves on the road, a matchup that used to be tricky but now is a sad state with many fans not in attendance as a form of protest against club ownership.
The Reds played out a pretty sloppy first half in which they scored one of the most non-aesthetic goals you’ll ever see. Matheus Cunha opted against taking a shot against his former club after a bad giveaway in defense, deciding instead to pass to teammate Bruno Fernandes. It should have set up an easy finish, but he miscalculated the weight on the pass and Bruno had to adjust his body. He struck the ball on the turn while falling down, first deflecting off of his plant foot and then bouncing through Sam Johnstone and into the net.
It was exactly the sort of goal that the game deserved to that point, but it was not the breakaway point for the Reds on the road.
Wolves equalized, scoring their first goal since October through Jean-Ricner Bellegarde in stoppage time of the first half. He was in plenty of space at the center of the box, and was able to strike a clean half-volley into the far corner and give the home fans something to cheer about.
United got back in gear in the second half, and it wasn’t long until they were putting the game to bed. Bryan Mbeumo got the Reds back in front on a quick counterattack, finishing on the end of a long ball to exploit a scrambling Wolves defense. Moments later, Bruno Fernandes set up a finishing move for Mason Mount to make it 3-1, and would add one for himself from the penalty spot after a handball for 4-1.
The fans in the away end were asking for Kobbie Mainoo, and got him for the final stages as the Reds finished the job to secure three points.
United moved up from 12th to sixth with the win, eight points behind league leaders Arsenal (yuck) and level with fifth-placed Chelsea. They’re back in action next Monday against Bournemouth.
