Manchester United suffered their fourth Premier League defeat in the space of five games as Bruno Fernandes was sent off in a 2-0 defeat to resurgent Wolves.
Fernandes received his marching orders early in the second half at a foggy Molineux, with Matheus Cunha firing straight in from a corner just before the hour mark to break the deadlock.
The United captain attacked Nelson Semedo on the edge of the Wolves area, with referee Tony Harrington having little choice but to show Fernandes a second yellow card.
Shortly afterwards, Jorgen Strand Larsen had a goal disallowed for offside, but Cunha's moment of magic in the 58th minute deservedly put Wolves ahead.
With United having failed to create more than two half-chances, denied by Alejandro Garnacho and Harry Maguire respectively, Cunha beat Hwang Hee-chan to be sure of the points deep into stoppage time, while Vitor Pereira won two from two as Wolves have been in charge since he replaced Gary O'Neil.
While Wolves have dropped out of the bottom three – at least temporarily – Ruben Amorim must find a way to get United back on track after a dismal run that has seen their only win come against out-of-form Manchester City.
3 – Bruno Fernandes is the first Manchester United player to be sent off three times in a season in all competitions since Nemanja Vidic in 2008-09 (also 3). Fog. pic.twitter.com/0t8d3g1Vn8
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 26, 2024
Data Debrief: Boxing Day Blues
Amorim is the first United boss to lose as many as five of his first ten games in charge of the club in all competitions since Walter Crickmer in January 1932 (6/10), while their four top-flight defeats came under former Sporting CP -coach is as many defeats as they had suffered in their previous 15 games in the league (W7 D4).
United's head coach, who now has to prepare for tough encounters against Newcastle United and Liverpool, will undoubtedly point to Fernandes' dismissal as a turning point. He is the first United player to be sent off three times in one season in all competitions since Nemanja Vidic in the 2008-09 season.
Wolves, meanwhile, are in a winter wonderland under Pereira, who has become the club's first boss since Sammy Chung won his first two top-flight games at the helm in August 1977, while becoming only the second Portuguese manager to win his first game. two games in the lead in the Premier League after Jose Mourinho.
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