Wolves 2 Manchester United 0: What did Fernandes do? An Olimpico problem, what’s next for Amorim?
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Wolves 2 Manchester United 0: What did Fernandes do? An Olimpico problem, what’s next for Amorim?

Posted on by Amelia Pressman

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes was sent off for the third time this season as Ruben Amorim’s side lost for the fourth time in five Premier League games.

After a lackluster first half, Fernandes failed to help his team two minutes after the restart. Having already received a yellow card, Fernandes injured Nelson Semedo’s ankle and was shown a second yellow card by referee Tony Harrington.

Things got even worse in the 58th minute when Matheus Cunha’s corner went over Andre Onana and straight into the far corner, the second time United had conceded an ‘Olimpico’ in a week.

United’s 10 men looked for an equalizer but the result was put beyond doubt in the ninth minute of stoppage time when Cunha broke free and fed Hwang Hee-chan, who fired in from close range.

It was two wins in two games for new Wolves head coach Vitor Pereira – just as Amorim, who once again dropped Marcus Rashford from his squad, must be dreaming of two wins in a row. His team slipped to 14th place.

The athleteMark Critchley analyzes the Molineux action.

What did Fernandes think?

Fernandes had only suffered two sending-offs in his career before the start of this season, both during his time at Sporting CP. He has exceeded this figure in just 27 appearances this season.

The United captain became the club’s first player to be sent off three times in a season since Nemanja Vidic in the 2008/09 season. And Vidic needed until March.

And although the clear red card against Tottenham Hotspur was rightly overturned and even that could be questioned a few days later in Porto, this time he couldn’t complain.


Fernandes is sent off by Tony Harrington (HENRY NICHOLLS/AFP via Getty Images)

If the foul on Cunha for the first yellow card was cynical, the second on Semedo was reckless for any player – let alone one who had already had a yellow card, and certainly not for a United captain.

And for US readers:

Fernandes always played with an edge. Perhaps sooner or later a concentrated flood of expulsions was inevitable. But at a time when United desperately needed leadership, their captaincy proved wanting.

Why are United conceding Olympic gold medals?

If your 2024-25 bingo cards said “United will concede twice straight from a corner in a week,” then that’s fair. You have to admire how this team finds new, bizarre ways to overwhelm.

Anyone at Old Trafford who hadn’t heard of an ‘Olimpico’ this time last week will surely find out now after Cunha emulated Son Heung-min and scored the goal from a tight angle.

Altay Bayindir didn’t take credit for this mistake against Tottenham and neither did Onana in this instance, as he completely misjudged the ball’s trajectory.

And for US readers:

However, Onana was crowded out by Wolves players and didn’t offer much protection from his teammates. It was both a collective and individual failure.

And so there will be another goal conceded after a set piece – this time in the truest sense of the word. United have now reached double digits on this sad metric.

What’s next for United?

Amorim now has five defeats in seven games across all competitions. As a coach, he has suffered more defeats this season than Erik ten Hag before his dismissal.

Of course that’s not the whole picture, there have been plenty of positives along the way and as Amorim has reiterated, United will have to weather a storm to get where they need to be.

But he also said he needs results along the way. United are now in 14th place and the gap to the target they want to achieve is growing.


Amorim after his team fell behind (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)

Amorim’s side are seven points behind fifth-placed Newcastle United, who visit Old Trafford on Monday. Fourth place could be 12 points away by tomorrow.

Any vague, distant hope of turning this season around and fighting for Champions League qualification through the league is fading. The problems are now piling up.

The attack lacks balance and fluidity. In standard situations, the defense is unable to keep the ball out of the net. Amorim has a lot of repairs to do.

What’s next for Manchester United?

Monday, December 30th: Newcastle United (Home), Premier League, 8pm UK, 3pm ET

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(Photo by Jack Thomas – WWFC/Wolves via Getty Images)

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