Week 33 of the English Premier League sees Wolves crush Manchester United’s Champions League hopes with a 2-1 win at Molyneux, and Fulham loses their English Premier League status after a mauling against Watford.
Of all the teams to derail Ole Gunnar Solksjaer’s runaway train, few would have chosen Wolverhampton Wanderers. Here we are, with the 2018/19 English Premier League (EPL) season soon to be joining pagers into the dim, distant past, and that’s what’s happened.
For the second time in three games, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side has roasted the Red Devils like chestnuts over a raging fire. Wolves eliminated United in the quarter-finals of a FA Cup run that many expected would end with a Manchester Derby, and now they may have ended their UEFA Champions League qualification hopes.
United arrived at Molineux knowing a victory would propel them into third space, hopping over Arsenal and Spurs like a fruitbat of a frog doing the Fosbury Flop. But Wolves play in mustard, and that’s what they’ve been this season.
United was like a hunter, going for the heart from the moment the ref blew his whistle with Jesse Lingard dribbling to the edge of the penalty box, straight from the kickoff, before shooting tamely at Rui Patrício.
The first significant opportunity came on the five-minute mark when Romelu Lukaku met a Diogo Dalot cross with a firm header from six yards, but the big Belgian could only aim it straight at the formidable presence of Patrício.
The United squad forgot about drowning Lukaku in a duck pond, when eight-minutes later, Fred set up Scott McTominay to score his first United goal with a sweet low strike with his right foot.
The next ten minutes were game-changing.
On 17-minutes, Lukaku clipped a delightful ball into the box, and an unmarked Lingard connected with a powder puff of a header when he had the time to take it down on his chest and smash it home. Then on 25-minutes, Raúl Jiménez slipped Diogo Jota into the United area, and the Portuguese marksman scored his sixth home goal in the past seven games.
United began the second half as brightly as they started the first. Once again, Lukaku was the provider, this time chipping a ball into the box from the left, and the big man, McTominay forced Patrício into a wonderful save from his pinpoint diving header.
Then two rash challenges from Ashley Young, on Jota, saw the United captain seeing red. United would have to play for more than 30-minutes with only ten men.
Wolves picked up the scent of fear and went for United with everything they had. In the 77th-minute, João Moutinho sent a missile into the United box, the typically unflappable David De Gea did nothing but flap, under pressure from Jiménez, and in the ensuing melee, the ball dribbled into the net off Chris Smalling’s hand to give Wolves the lead.
It was the end of the scoring, although Ivan Cavaleiro will be wondering how he managed to smash the ball onto the crossbar from eight-yards when clean through on goal in added-time.
It’s a disastrous defeat for a United team who still have to face Man City and Chelsea in the run-in, with Arsenal, Spurs and Chelsea facing smoother rides. If, as expected, Chelsea and Spurs beat Brighton and Crystal Palace respectively on Wednesday night, United will sink to sixth.
In contrast, Wolves are having a scintillating season. They face Watford at Wembley in a FA Cup Semi-Final on the weekend and sit in seventh in the EPL table.
Next up for wounded United?
Barcelona.
In the night’s other tie, Fulham will join Huddersfield in the Championship next season after suffering a stuffing at Vicarage Road.
The two teams went into the half-time break on an even keel after Ryan Babel had cancelled out Abdoulaye Doucoure’s opener. But three goals in ten minutes from Will Hughes, Troy Deeney and Kiko Femenia means the inevitable is now fact.
Watford moves up to eighth.
EPL Results
Wolves 2 v 1 Man Utd
Watford 4 v 1 Fulham
EPL Standings
1. Liverpool – 79
2. Man City – 77
3. Arsenal – 63
4. Spurs – 61
5. Man Utd – 61
6. Chelsea – 60
7. Wolves – 47
8. Watford – 46
9. Leicester – 44
10. Everton – 43
11. West Ham – 42
12. Bournemouth – 38
13. Crystal Palace – 36
14. Newcastle – 35
15. Brighton – 33
16. Southampton – 33
17. Burnley – 33
18. Cardiff – 28
19. Fulham – 17 (R)
20. Huddersfield – 14 (R)
EPL Odds
To Win
Man City – 4/9
Liverpool – 7/4
Relegation
Cardiff 1/6
Burnley 11/2
Top Four
Arsenal 4/9
Spurs 4/9
Man Utd 9/4
Chelsea 13/8
Top Goalscorer
Sergio Aguero 11/8
Harry Kane 4/1
Mohamed Salah 4/1
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 6/1
Current Top Scorers
1. Sergio Aguero – 19
2. Mohamed Salah – 17
3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – 17
4. Harry Kane – 17
5. Sadio Mane – 17
Next Manager to Leave
Maurizzio Sarri 8/11
No Manager to Leave 3/1
Neil Warnock 9/1
Neil Siewert 9/1
