Wolverhampton Wanderers earned a 2-0 victory over the ten men of Manchester United to climb out of the relegation zone on Boxing day while consigning their beleaguered visitors to a third straight defeat.
A thick fog crept over Molineux during the first half, sinking closer towards the turf as each of the opening 45 minutes ticked away. Any fans who had their view obscured by the soupy mist didn’t miss much.
The two clubs scrambling around the bottom half of the Premier League table cancelled each other out in a tepid first half. The sleepy Boxing Day fixture was belatedly enlivened when Bruno Fernandes collected a second yellow card less than 90 seconds after the restart.
Wolves almost immediately had the ball in Andre Onana’s net, taking advantage of their numerical superiority only for Jorgen Strand Larsen to be denied by the offside flag. Matheus Cunha would not have his celebrations curtailed in the 58th minute, legally swinging a corner kick directly from the flag into the top corner to break the deadlock.
The relegation-battling hosts had a monopoly of the ball, but struggled to add to their lead. Molineux became a jangling bag of nerves as United mounted a late squall of pressure before Hwang Hee-chan sealed all three points with a second goal in the 99th minute.
*Player ratings from FotMob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Jose Sa |
8.8/10 |
|
CB: Matt Doherty |
8.2/10 |
|
CB: Santiago Bueno |
7.2/10 |
|
CB: Toti Gomes |
8.0/10 |
|
RWB: Nelson Semedo |
7.4/10 |
|
CM: Andre |
8.3/10 |
|
CM: Joao Gomes |
6.4/10 |
|
LWB: Rayan Ait-Nouri |
6.7/10 |
|
RF: Goncalo Guedes |
6.1/10 |
|
ST: Jorgen Stand Larsen |
6.3/10 |
|
LF: Matheus Cunha |
8.7/10 |
|
SUB: Tommy Doyle (73′ for Joao Gomes) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Hwang Hee-chan (74′ for Guedes) |
7.3/10 |
|
SUB: Rodrigo Gomes (87′ for Ait-Nouri) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Craig Dawson (90′ for Semedo) |
N/A |
|
SUB: Jean-Ricner Bellegarde (90′ for Strand Larsen) |
N/A |
Subs not used:
*Player ratings from FotMob*
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Andre Onana |
5.3/10 |
|
CB: Leny Yoro |
6.6/10 |
|
CB: Harry Maguire |
6.8/10 |
|
CB: Lisandro Martinez |
6.2/10 |
|
RWB: Noussair Mazraoui |
6.8/10 |
|
CM: Manuel Ugarte |
7.1/10 |
|
CM: Kobbie Mainoo |
6.3/10 |
|
LWB: Diogo Dalot |
7.3/10 |
|
RF: Amad Diallo |
6.1/10 |
|
ST: Rasmus Hojlund |
5.8/10 |
|
LF: Bruno Fernandes |
4.8/10 |
|
SUB: Casemiro (63′ for Ugarte) |
6.9/10 |
|
SUB: Christian Eriksen (63′ for Mainoo) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Antony (63′ for Yoro) |
7.1/10 |
|
SUB: Alejandro Garnacho (79′ for Amad) |
5.3/10 |
|
SUB: Joshua Zirkzee (79′ for Hojlund) |
6.1/10 |
Subs not used: Altay Bayindir (GK), Jonny Evans, Matthijs de Ligt, Toby, Collyer