CHRISTMAS SLACKERS
Wolves 2 Man Utd 0: Amorim crisis deepens after embarrassing goal and Fernandes red – and he faces disaster in next game
Fernandes sending off sees hapless United wilt at a murky Molineux
RUBEN AMORIM needs to spend plenty more time working on set-pieces if he is to stop United’s spectacular plunge towards the depths of the Premier league.
If this terrible form continues - although they will surely improve at some stage - the Red Devils could end up in a relegation fight.
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Matheus Cunha scored the winner directly from a corner-kick to send United to their fifth loss in 10 matches under their new manager Amorim.
And that was after United were forced to play with 10 men following Bruno Fernandes' red card for a late challenge on Nelson Semedo - his second booking - at the start of the second half.
Incredibly, under Amorim, United have conceded from set-pieces against Arsenal, Nottingham Forest, Spurs and Bournemouth.
Yet it must be the first time in the space of a week that United have ever leaked two goals directly from corners which quite frankly, is shameful.
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Son Heung-Min caught out United’s stand-in keeper Altay Bayındir in the Carabao Cup and in an identical goal here, Wolves’ star man Cunha saw his corner float into the far corner of the net.
Andre Onana complained to referee Tony Harrington that he was being fouled but the United keeper was more interested in shoving Wolves defender Matt Doherty than trying to keep the ball out of the net.
Cunha is a January target for Arsenal and little wonder as he is such a good player.
And he is currently facing an FA ban for being charged with misconduct after the final whistle against Ipswich and Wolves would certainly miss him as he was terrific throughout.
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So, more problems for Amorim but a great night for Wolves' new boss Vitor Pereira who has now won both of his matches in charge of the club.
For Fernandes, it was his third red card of the season although his three-match ban after being dismissed against Spurs for a foul on James Maddison in September was overturned.
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He was booked in the first half for a late challenge on Cunha and then just over a minute into the second period, he caught Semedo and could have no complaints.
Even before then, the Portuguese international had struggled and was constantly ducking out of 50-50 challenges even though some of the passing from his team-mates was terrible.
Fernandes is one of the worst captains in United’s history but the alternatives are not great.
Having been stripped of the captaincy by Erik ten Hag, Fernandes was never going to hand the armband to the England centre-back so instead, it was given to Lisandro Martinez.
The first 45 minutes, though, was incredibly poor with both teams making a huge number of mistakes.
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The home crowd started singing the name of new man Pereira after just 26 minutes which is not bad for your first home game.
Within seconds, Jorgen Strand Larsen forced Onana to push a header over the bar.
Onana also clawed away a corner from Cunha which was about to creep into the goal at the near post so it is a shame he could not do better for the winner.
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In a rare United attempt in the first half, Martinez’s header was easily saved by Jose Sa.
At half-time, United boss Amorim would have urged his team to keep things tight and for his two players on bookings, Leny Yoro and Fernandes, to be careful.
But incredibly, in only the second minute of the second half, Fernandes followed up that caution with a late challenge on Semedo and he could not have too many complaints.
No sooner had Fernandes left the pitch, Wolves stuck the ball in the net but Strand Larsen was ruled offside and a lengthy VAR check agreed with the officials.
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Yet Wolves continued to play with purpose and they clearly fancied their chances although they would not have expected the goal to come from a corner.
Wolves' fans shouted in disbelief when the fourth official indicated there would be eight minutes of stoppage time.
But right at the end of that period, the hosts broke and Cunha squared for sub Hee Chann Hwang to score with a tap-in.
Now, there is even more for Amorim to think about ahead of United’s next match against Newcastle on Monday.
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Mind you, if you think things are bad for Amorim, they have been even worse for his replacement at Sporting Lisbon with Joao Pereira having been sacked.
At least Amorim will get a bit more time.
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