Manchester United took a step forward in their uneven Premier League campaign with a resounding 4-1 victory over Wolves at Molineux, a result that briefly revived hopes of genuine momentum.
In a season marked by progress followed swiftly by regression, the performance offered clarity on United’s attacking potential, if not reassurance about their long-term stability.
The emphatic win came just nine days after a convincing triumph at Crystal Palace, which itself had been undermined by a dispiriting draw against struggling West Ham. That pattern has defined United’s campaign.
Earlier in the season, a promising three-game winning run was halted by three successive matches without victory, culminating in a damaging home defeat to an Everton side reduced to ten men early on.
Monday night’s victory was United’s most dominant display under Ruben Amorim in the league, equalling the four-goal haul his team has not surpassed in the 13 months since his arrival.
United unleashed 27 shots, their highest tally in a Premier League match under the Portuguese coach, and once again demonstrated a willingness to assert control rather than react.
They have now spent more time leading games this season than throughout the entirety of the 2024–25 campaign, an indication that Amorim’s ideas are beginning to take hold.
Yet the United manager was keen to temper celebrations, pointing out Wolves’ struggles both on and off the pitch as a mitigating factor.
“This is a specific case,” Amorim said. “We faced a team that is really, really struggling. You can sense it in every situation of the game.”
Wolves, bottom of the table and buoyed by a fractious atmosphere, offered little resistance for long periods, although they briefly disrupted United’s rhythm through Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s goal.
The strike ended a 540-minute goal drought for the hosts and came during a spell in which new manager Rob Edwards felt his side had shown greater intent.
It was not the narrative Amorim wanted on a night when Sir Jim Ratcliffe watched from the directors’ box, engaged in animated discussions with football director Jason Wilcox.
United conceded again from a familiar lapse in concentration, reinforcing concerns about defensive reliability that continue to haunt their season.
At half-time, Amorim delivered a pointed message to his players, reminding them of opportunities already missed and the importance of ruthlessness.
“We should have finished that half in a different way,” he said. “Look at the table, look at everything. We needed to win the second half. It didn’t matter the result.”
United responded emphatically after the break, overwhelming Wolves and restoring order with a dominant second-half display that underlined their superiority.
Pundit Jamie Carragher, analysing the match for Sky Sports, praised the performance but highlighted a lingering sense of foreboding surrounding the club.
“We make the assumption there is a bad result around the corner,” Carragher remarked, echoing the concerns of many supporters.
Those concerns are rooted in stark statistics. United have managed just one Premier League clean sheet this season, achieved against Sunderland at Old Trafford in early October.
The question remains whether United are a side suffering one defeat in nine matches, or merely a team that has collected two wins in six games.
After squandering chances to move second and later fifth, United now sit sixth, with the potential to rise as high as fourth after their meeting with Bournemouth.
Conversely, another stumble could see them slip back into the bottom half, highlighting the fine margins that define their campaign.
Bournemouth’s recent struggles offer little comfort, having beaten United 3-0 on each of their last two visits to Old Trafford.
Injuries and player availability further complicate matters. Matthijs de Ligt was expected to return against Wolves but remains sidelined, with no clear timeline for his recovery.
United are also in discussions with the Moroccan, Ivorian and Cameroonian football associations regarding the availability of Noussair Mazraoui, Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.
“For now, let’s wait,” Amorim said. “Moving into sixth means nothing. We should have more points. The past is done. Let’s focus on the future.”
This article was created using automation technology and was thoroughly edited and fact-checked by one of our editorial staff members
