For Manchester United, a soothing return to winning ways to avert any sense another mini-crisis was brewing. Victories are scarcely this comfortable, even if Ruben Amorim’s side needed to navigate the briefest of scares when Wolves equalised with half-time looming. United turned on the style after the break, the manager clenching his right fist when Mason Mount made it 3-1 with a smart volley, building on goals by Bryan Mbeumo and Bruno Fernandes, who also rounded off the scoring from the penalty spot.
For Wolves, this was yet another demoralising defeat, a 13th in 15 league matches. The last time they tasted victory, in April, Matheus Cunha, who enjoyed his return to Molineux in United’s all-black strip, opened the scoring. Nine fan groups totalling thousands of supporters protested against the Wolves owner, Fosun, by boycotting the first 15 minutes. Supporters voiced their anger at the players, too. “You’re not fit to wear the shirt,” they sang, and jeered Jørgen Strand Larsen when he was taken off. There were pantomime laughs when the fourth official indicated at least nine minutes of stoppage time.
