It was a difficult evening for Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United ended a 2025 they will want to forget on another low as they were held to a 1-1 draw winless Wolves at Old Trafford.
United produced an impressive rearguard effort to beat Newcastle United 1-0 on Boxing Day, but their defence was surprisingly shaky against the Premier League’s bottom club, who are almost certainly destined for the drop.
It looked as if Wolves’ considerable failings at the back would render any United struggles moot when Joshua Zirkzee put the hosts ahead with a deflected effort, however, an outstanding header from Ladislav Krejci gave the visitors the goal they deserved just before half-time.
Patrick Dorgu appeared to have broken Wolves hearts late on when he converted on the rebound after Benjamin Sesko was denied by Jose Sa, but they were saved by the lineman’s flag.
The result will heap huge pressure on Ruben Amorim and perhaps lift some on Rob Edwards despite Wolves’ desperate position in the table. They are fifteen points adrift of safety, while United will be rueing a gilt-edged chance to move into the top four.
Zirkzee puts Manchester United ahead
Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa was quickly forced into action to prevent a teasing Luke Shaw delivery from going straight in from a corner, before Sesko fired narrowly wide on the turn.
It was a familiar feeling for Edwards when Zirkzee’s shot took a huge deflection off Krejci and beyond the helpless Sa following excellent work from Ayden Heaven.
Wolves were a consistent threat going forward, and Hwang Hee-chan gave United what should have been a wake-up call when he went close after meeting Tolu Arokodare’s pull back.
At the other end, Shaw’s deliveries continued to create problems for Wolves, with Sesko hitting the post from a corner.
But United failing to heed the earlier warning and, after Yerson Mosquera and Hugo Bueno both saw chances go begging, Krejci silenced Old Trafford by punishing United’s failure to clear a Bueno corner.
Sa and Lammens produce heroics
Sa was grateful to see a Diogo Dalot header from a Shaw corner whistle wide as United sought to retake the lead, and it was only the reactions of the Wolves goalkeeper that prevented a comical second goal for the hosts, the Portuguese scrambling back to claw the ball off the line and stop a misdirected defensive header from Mosquera from resulting in an own goal.
Lammens matched Sa’s heroics when he pinched the ball off Mosquera’s toes, stopping him from tapping in on the rebound after the Belgian had initially denied Krejci a second.
United’s goal continued to live a charmed life when Dalot deflected a Jhon Arias effort inches off target, and it appeared as if fortune had smiled on them again as Dorgu sent the home fans into raptures, only for a correctly raised offside flag to leave Amorim frustrated and Wolves able to celebrate the end of an 11-match losing run.