Wolverhampton Wanderers defied their position at the foot of the Premier League table to secure a hard-fought 1-1 draw against a faltering Manchester United at Old Trafford. The result leaves United's Champions League aspirations under scrutiny and offers a glimmer of hope for Rob Edwards's battling side.
United's Fragility Exposed Despite Early Lead
With eight first-team players absent, including Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo, and Harry Maguire, Manchester United faced a Wolves team with just two points from their opening fixtures. The stage seemed set for a routine home victory, but Ruben Amorim's men produced a performance riddled with uncertainty.
The hosts took a fortuitous lead in the first half. A driving run from defender Ayden Heaven led to the ball falling to Joshua Zirkzee, whose shot took a decisive deflection off Ladislav Krejci to wrong-foot goalkeeper José Sá and roll into the net.
Despite this breakthrough, United failed to control the game. Wolves, growing in confidence, began to dominate possession in United's half, much to the visible frustration of manager Amorim. The visitors created several promising openings, with Benjamin Sesko going close and Hwang Hee-chan blazing over from a good position.
Krejci Roars as Wolves Deservedly Level
United's defensive brittleness was punished just before the interval. From a Hugo Bueno corner, the ball flicked off Zirkzee at the near post and fell to the completely unmarked Ladislav Krejci at the back post. The Czech defender made no mistake, powering a header past Senne Lammens to send the travelling supporters into raptures.
The equaliser was no less than Wolves deserved for their endeavour, and they could have taken the lead shortly after when Lammens saved brilliantly from Bueno at point-blank range. The teams went into the break with the momentum firmly with the league's bottom side.
Second-Half Scraps and Missed Opportunities
Amorim responded at half-time by introducing 18-year-old Jack Fletcher for the ineffective Zirkzee, but United continued to lack fluency. While they showed sporadic threat through Sesko and Diogo Dalot, it was Wolves who carved out the clearer chances to win the game.
In the second period, Yerson Mosquera almost capitalised on a Krejci shot that Lammens parried, but couldn't force the ball home. Later, substitute Jhon Arias forced another smart stop from the United keeper as the visitors pressed for a famous victory.
Wolves thought they had snatched all three points in the 89th minute when Patrick Dorgu found the net, but the offside flag was correctly raised. In the end, a draw was a fair reflection of a match where the struggling visitors matched, and often bettered, their more illustrious opponents.
The result leaves Manchester United with serious questions about their cohesion and ability to dispatch teams in the lower reaches of the table, especially given their ambitions for a top-four finish. For Wolves, the point, only their third of a difficult campaign, could prove a vital building block in their fight for survival.
