WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes scored two goals and another as Manchester United beat Wolverhampton 4-1 on Monday to move into the top six of the English Premier League.
Fernandes’ first-half goal was canceled out by Jean-Richner Bellegarde just before half-time, but Brian Mbeumo restored United’s lead early in the second half.
Mason Mount added a third goal in the 62nd minute, and Fernandes converted a penalty in the 82nd minute to seal a comprehensive victory.
It was Wolves’ eighth straight defeat, leaving sixth-placed United on 25 points, level with Chelsea in fifth.
Wolves remain bottom of the table with two points, eight points behind Burnley, the team above them.
“We got back in the game, but you don’t get anything out of a football game by conceding goals,” Wolves coach Rob Edwards said.
“There’s some tension, which is understandable, but in important moments of the game we insisted on giving the ball back to them. We’re being punished and we have to improve and be consistent. But things aren’t going to get better anytime soon.”
United have been inconsistent all season, but went into the game as heavy favorites against a team that has the worst starting record of any Premier League team at this stage of the campaign.
Thousands of Wolves fans boycotted the first 15 minutes in an organized protest against the club’s ownership by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.
They barely settled in when United took the lead with a goal that marked Wolves’ season.
Brazilian Andre lost the ball in midfield and Fernandes raced inside the Wolves box on the counter attack.
He shrugged off the attentions of Emmanuel Agbadu and managed to take a shot despite losing his footing, but goalkeeper Sam Johnston grabbed his hand but was unable to stop it from rolling into the goal.
United failed to capitalize on the pressure and paid the price seconds before half-time.
David Moller-Wolf crossed from the byline and Wolves’ standout performer Bellegarde volleyed past Senne Lamence and into the United goal.
It was Wolves’ first league goal since losing 3-2 at home to Burnley on October 26, and United have now failed to keep a clean sheet in 13 consecutive league games.
Despite this, United outscored Wolves with a second-half onslaught.
Ruben Amorim’s side were 2-1 up after 51 minutes when Mbeumo completed a brilliant counter-attack by tapping in Diogo Dalot’s superb pass.
Fernandes added a fourth 11 minutes later when Mount provided a wonderful chip assist for Fernandes.
“We had a lot of chances in the first half and we created a lot of chances after that, but we just didn’t convert as many chances as we should have,” Mount said.
“We played sloppily and let them get back into the game. The referee (Amorim) had something to say at half-time and the onus was on us to rectify the situation with a proper performance in the second half. Our focus was all about being ruthless, going forward with purpose and taking chances.”
“It would be good to push on and get the three points, but we can’t stop now. We have to keep going,” Mount said.
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