Manchester United’s captain Bruno Fernandes, expelled for the third time this season, while Ruben Amorim’s team has lost for the fourth time in five Premier League games.
After a lacklustre first half, Fernandes did not help his team two minutes after the restart. Already on a booking, Fernandes scraped down Nelson Semedo’s ankle and was shown a second yellow by referee Tony Harrington.
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Things were temporarily bad at worse in the 58th minute when Matheus Cunha’s corner went beyond Andre Onana and directly to the corner, the moment United admitted an ‘Olympic’ in a week.
The 10 United men were sought from an equalizer, but the result was questioned in the ninth minute of additional time when Cunha separated and established Hwang Hee-chan to hit the house from a short distance.
It made it two wins in two for new Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira — how Amorim, who again left Marcus Rashford out of his squad, must be dreaming of back-to-back victories. His team have slipped to 14th.
Mark Critchley of Molineux Athletics analyzes the action.
Fernandes only had two run pitches to his call before starting this season, whether it was his time at Sporting CP. He’s surpassed that overall in just 27 appearances this season.
The United captain has become the club’s first player to be sent off three times in a single campaign since Nemanja Vidic in the 2008-09 campaign. And Vidic took until March.
And the red right opposite Tottenham Hotspur was rightly canceled, that a few days later in Porto could be questioned, this time perhaps he has no complaints.
If the foul on Cunha for the first booking was cynical, the second on Semedo was reckless for any player — never mind one already on a yellow, never mind for a United skipper.
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And for American readers:
? U. S. Network | #Wolmun pic. twitter. com/c4xhkqisbv
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Fernandes has always played with an edge. Perhaps a concentrated flurry of sendings off was inevitable sooner or later. But at a time when United desperately need leadership, their captain was found wanting.
If you had “United would concede twice from a corner in the area of a week” on your 2024-25 bingo cards, then Fair Play. You have to appreciate how this team comes up with strange new tactics to overwhelm.
Anyone at Old Trafford who hasn’t heard of an ‘Olimpico’ this time last week now after Cunha emulated son Heung-min to locate the net from the sharpest angles.
Altay Bayindir did not cover himself on glory for that error against Tottenham and nor did Onana on this occasion either, misjudging the flight of the ball entirely.
The corner of Matheus Cunha goes direct and the Wolves lead Man Utd ? #PlonPrime #Wolmun pic. twitter. com/h0t3lvhzxg
— Amazon Prime Video Sport (@Primevideosport) December 26, 2024
And for US readers:
? US Network. | #Wolmun pic. twitter. com/qah9ymv7pt
– NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportssoccer) December 26, 2024
Onana was being crowded out by Wolves players, however, and not offered much protection by his team-mates. It was a collective as well as individual failure.
And so it will be another goal awarded on a loose shot, this time, literally. United have now reached double that dismal metric.
This now defeats in all competitions for Amorim. With this, he has suffered more defeats as coach this season than Erik Ten Hag before his dismissal.
This is not all the symbol: there have been many positive issues along the way and, as Amorim reiterated, United will have to withstand a typhoon to get to where they need to be.
But he also said he wants effects on the road. United now are 14 and the hole where they need to be extended.
Amorim’s side are seven points adrift of fifth-place Newcastle United, who visit Old Trafford on Monday. Fourth-place could be 14 points away by tomorrow.
All remote hope of overthrowing this crusade and competing for Champions League qualification through the league is dormant. Meanwhile, disorders are multiplying.
The attack lacks balance and fluidity. The defence is incapable of keeping the ball out of the net on set pieces. Amorim has lots to fix.
On Fernandes’ card:
“I will be frustrated through a red card, but it can happen. He tried to pass the ball. It’s not like he was looking to avoid a game with a yellow: he needs to pass the ball. The other guy hit the ball first and there was contact. This thing is also complicated for him.
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Disappointed with Onana for Wolves’ first goal?
“In the same way I saw Tottenham. Certain things when you jump, the slightest touch, as opposed to Tottenham, it was on the arm and today it was on the back, when you touch someone when they jump, it’s difficult to catch the ball. That’s all. “
Managed for a month, are they worse than expected?
“I managed, but I didn’t train. They need time to train. They are completely changing their way of playing. It’s really hard on them and also the staff to pass on all the information. When you don’t have results it’s even harder for them to believe. We have to continue. We already knew it’s a tough moment and we have to focus on the next game.”
Should United be involved to be more on the table?
“In this moment we just have to survive and to win some time to work on the team. We already knew it. I started with this job with a team and a new idea without any time to train with a lot of tough games. It’s a long journey like I said on the first day. We have to continue and fight these bad moments because this is part of football.
How long is it going t0 take?
“I don’t know. Instead of going out to see the videos, take advantage of every minute of education and try to win points.
Monday, December 30: Newcastle United (home), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET