MANCHESTER UNITED’S flops were booed off following the 2-0 defeat at Wolves.
And the result leaves the Red Devils just eight points above the relegation zone.
After a drab goalless first half at Molineux, Bruno Fernandes’ moment of madness when already on a yellow card changed the game.
His careless lunge on Nelson Semedo 90 seconds into the second period saw ref Tony Harrington send him for a third early bath of the season.
And that gave Wolves the boost they needed to go on and snatch all three points.
Matheus Cunha scored directly from a corner before Hwang Hee-chan grabbed a second in the 99th minute.
There was only just time for the restart as Harrington blew the full-time whistle as Ruben Amorim’s men fell to a third defeat in a week – following the Carabao Cup exit at Spurs then the 3-0 humiliation at home to Bournemouth.
And the latest result saw patience run out for plenty of the travelling supporters who made the Boxing Day trip to the West Midlands.
A chorus of jeers, whistles and boos sounded from the away end as United slumped to 14th in the Premier League table.
Their tally of 22 points from 18 games features six wins, four draws and eight defeats with a goal difference of -3.
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That leaves them 17 points off leaders Liverpool but more worryingly just eight ahead of 18th-placed Leicester before kick-off between the two teams at Anfield in the late game on Boxing Day.
And the complaints were not limited to inside the stadium.
On social media, fans were quick to voice their growing concerns about the state of their team yet again.
One said: “Another disappointing and frustrating game to watch. Team is clearly a bang average one and bereft of any ideas and creativity. Amorim has a huge job on his hands.”
Another wrote: “You owe Erik ten Hag an apology. This is genuinely embarrassing.”
A third added: “Woeful performance.”
A fourth replied: “Worst I’ve seen my club in 30 years.”
And a final user asked: “How long before Amorim is booted?”
Things don’t get much easier for the Red Devils with Newcastle, Liverpool and Arsenal in their next three fixtures.
By Ken Lawrence
WOLVES landed a shock Boxing Day knockout as Manchester United’s struggles continued.
The 2-0 defeat means Ruben Amorim has won just two of the seven Premier League games he has taken charge of.
United find themselves 14th in the table and today were not helped by Bruno Fernandes’ red card and Andre Onana letting one in direct from a corner.
Here is how SunSport rated the performances…
ANDRE ONANA: 4
He needed to make an agile save from Jorgen Strand Larsen in the first half, but badly misjudged the flight of Cunha’s corner for the opening goal – his claim that he was obstructed by Matt Doherty was rejected.
LENY YORO: 5
Recalled but booked after only four minutes for a foul on Cunha, so he was walking on eggshells and was tested by Wolves throughout. Subbed just after the hour mark.
HARRY MAGUIRE: 6
The England defender did his best to keep United in the game when they were under pressure for long periods – at least he helped to stem the tide until the dying seconds and had a header on target in stoppage time.
LISANDRO MARTINEZ: 6
Teamed up well with Maguire to stop Wolves from winning this more easily, he stood his ground and produced some important challenges in the latter stages before Wolves caught him on the break with the last action of the game.
NOUSSAIR MAZRAOUI: 5
Tenacious and determined, but was one of several players given a torrid time by the best player on the pitch – Cunha.
MANUEL UGARTE: 5
Dispossesed too easily at times, struggled against a lively Wolves attack and was eventually taken off as one of Amorim’s subs following Fernandes’ red card.
KOBBIE MAINOO: 5
Looked a threat early on, created some good openings, but he was booked after the break as United looked short on ideas. Faded and was subbed.
DIOGO DALOT: 6
Brought a tremendous save from Jose Sa in the first half in what was a rare bright spot for United – but he had no major influence on a poor team display.
AMAD DIALLO: 5
Lacked awareness of his team-mates sometimes and looked a shadow of the player who turned the Manchester derby around less than two weeks ago.
BRUNO FERNANDES: 3
Sent off early in the second half for a second yellow after a challenge on Nelson Semedo, but the captain had cut a frustrated figure before that.
RASMUS HOJLUND: 5
Became visibly annoyed at times at a lack of service from his team-mates, he had no joy up front and was subbed with 10 minutes left.
SUBS
Casemiro (for Mainoo, 63 mins): 6
Christian Eriksen (for Ugate, 63 mins): 6
Antony (for Yoro, 63 mins): 6
Alejandro Garnacho (for Amad, 79 mins): 5
Joshua Zirkzee (for Hojlund, 79 mins): 5
Amorim, though, was desperate to try and keep spirits up despite the nightmare triple header off the back of three painful defeats.
He said: “Of course, when you lose, when we don’t win, it’s a step back. It was really hard with the sending off.
“The goal was similar against Tottenham. Then, we tried.
“Even with one less guy we tried to and I think we were near something but then Wolves scored the second one.
“Then, in the end, we tried everything and the transition was 2-0. For us, let’s continue.”
