WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes scored twice and added another as Manchester United beat Wolverhampton 4-1 on Monday to move into the Premier League’s top six.
Fernandez’s first-half goal was canceled out by Jean-Riquene Bellegarde on the stroke of half-time, but Brian Mbemo restored United’s lead early in the second half.
advertise
Mason Mount scored the third goal in the 62nd minute and Fernandes converted a penalty in the 82nd minute to seal the victory.
It was Wolves’ eighth consecutive defeat and sixth-placed Manchester United have 25 points, level with fifth-placed Chelsea.
Wolves remain bottom of the table with two points, eight behind top-placed Burnley.
Although United have been inconsistent throughout the season, they emerged as favorites against a team with one of the worst starting records among Premier League teams at this stage of the season.
Thousands of Wolves fans staged a boycott 15 minutes before the game to protest the ownership of the club by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.
advertise
No sooner had they sat down than United took the lead thanks to Wolves’ goal of the season.
Brazilian player Andre lost the ball in midfield, and the counterattack led to Fernandez rushing into the Wolves penalty area.
He fought off Emmanuel Agbadu’s attention and, despite losing his footing, managed to score a shot which goalkeeper Sam Johnstone reached for but could not prevent from rolling into the net.
United failed to capitalize on the pressure and paid the price seconds before half-time.
David Moller-Wolf crossed from the baseline and Wolves standout Bellegarde’s volley sailed past Sene Lamens and into the United net.
advertise
This is the Wolves’ first league goal since losing 2-3 at home to Burnley on October 26. It is also the 13th consecutive league game that Manchester United has failed to keep a clean sheet.
Nonetheless, United outplayed Wolves in a second-half blitz.
Ruben Amorim’s side led 2-1 in the 51st minute when Mbemo completed a brilliant counter-attack after receiving a clever pass from Diogo Dalot.
11 minutes later, Mount converted a beautiful assist from Fernandez into a goal, and then Fernandez scored the fourth goal.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
