It was far from being a classic but Wolves had the final say in a 1-0 win against Man United at Old Trafford on Monday night.
The win was a first for Wolves against Man United since 1980, effectively ending an unbeaten run of more than 40 years against them.
Manchester United manager Ralf Rangnick was also handed his first defeat since taking charge at the club, ending a five-game unbeaten streak.
Wolves started the game on the front foot, dominating possession and recording 15 shots in the first half – the most on Opta record from a visiting team in a first half at Old Trafford.
However, they were only rewarded for their resilience in the 82nd minute via a Joao Moutinho strike from outside the box after a poor clearance by Phil Jones.
With his goal, Moutinho became the oldest visiting player to score a winning goal at Old Trafford in Premier League history (35y 117d).
Man United were poor and could only manage two shots on target in the entire encounter compared to Wolves’ six.
Speaking after the match, Rangnick admitted that his side deserved to lose and applauded the away side.
“We’re very disappointed about the result and parts of our performance,” he told Sky Sports.
“They’re playing with four or five central midfielders and we had problems to control that part of the pitch. We decided to change our formation and we had more control – they didn’t have as many chances – but we missed our chances and we have to admit they deserved to win.
“Wolves were the best team we’ve played. We have more problems today than in other games.
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“We didn’t press at all. We tried but we were not able to get into those pressing situations. They had an overload in midfield and they played via their wing-backs.”
The manager was also quick to point out that his length of stay so far was perhaps not enough to instill his mentality and desired style of play.
“We’ve been only working two and a half or three weeks after needing to close the training centre,” he said.
“We had the results. In times we played well but today we have to admit they’re better than us.”
Manchester United continue to struggle for control against teams lower in the table. They drew 1-1 against Newcastle last week and have now lost to Wolves.
Another worrying fact is that the Red Devils have failed to score in their fourth match of the season; already more than they had the whole of last season.
Fans would expect more from the side given the plethora of attacking talent available in the squad.
United sit 7th on the log and would hope for a sustained string of positive results if they hope to keep their hopes of qualifying in the top four alive.
They face Aston Villa on Monday in the FA Cup third round and face them again in the Premier League five days later.
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