Pack Mentality: Five Straight Wins, Survival Secured

Wolves made it five wins in a row and completed their first league double over Manchester United since the 1979/80 season thanks to an exquisite free-kick from Pablo Sarabia.

A win that guarantees our Premier League status and puts us level on points with today’s opponents in 15th. Who would have thought this just before Christmas?

Our saviour Vítor Pereira was forced into making two changes from our home win against Spurs last week, as Doherty and Bellegarde made way for Santi Bueno and Cunha. Another late change came during the warm-up, with José Sá pulling up with an issue, meaning Dan Bentley made his first appearance since August between the sticks.

First Half

Wolves kicked off and looked to dominate possession early on. With Cunha and Aït-Nouri linking up well down the left, it seemed like we were trying to take the initiative to United—but the rest of the first half didn’t quite pan out that way.

United grew into the game and enjoyed the bulk of possession. It was a half with very little quality from either side. Mainoo should’ve been booked for diving early on, but nothing was given by a referee who seemed to favour the home side in most of his decisions.

Santi Bueno was caught out of position a few times, allowing United to switch play and exploit space down our right-hand side. After 14 minutes, only a great recovery tackle from Agbadou stopped a dangerous attack. The first shot at goal came nearly 25 minutes in, when Semedo tried his luck from range—but his effort sailed high and, frankly, wasn’t even close.

Towards the end of the half, United looked to capitalise on our lack of urgency. Mainoo again found space down the right and saw his shot whistle just wide of the far post. It was a lethargic and flat first half from Wolves. Larsen struggled to hold up the ball, Cunha was dispossessed far too often, and the midfield pairing spent more time chasing than controlling. A poor first 45, but still level at the break.

Second Half

The second half started as the first ended—it took us about three minutes to even touch the ball. United looked composed, and Wolves struggled to create anything of note. Semedo had a great chance to deliver a cross deep in United’s half, but—typical of his game—he gave it away cheaply. It wasn’t a great performance from the captain, who was wasteful in possession throughout.

Around the 50-minute mark, with the game becoming more stretched, Toti made a crucial tackle to deny United a golden chance. Højlund beat Agbadou far too easily on the halfway line and looked to be through one-on-one, but Toti stood firm, stayed patient, and made a superb challenge.

Wolves continued to get the basics wrong in attack—something we’ve been doing well in recent weeks. Aït-Nouri couldn’t deliver a decent cross, Joao Gomes was unusually sloppy in possession, and Larsen kept making poor decisions in key areas. Santi, who had a decent game overall, was caught flat-footed by a neat one-two, and luckily it was Højlund on the end of the chance—anyone else in red and they might have scored. Changes were needed, and Pereira responded—on came Rodrigo Gomes and Sarabia.

Wolves started to settle around the 70-minute mark. While United still had more of the ball, they were reduced to half-chances. Cunha began to influence the game more, and it was his run that won us a free-kick in a perfect position. Up stepped Pablo Sarabia, and he sent the away end wild with an inch-perfect free-kick into the back of the net. It was going to take something special to break the deadlock—and Sarabia delivered.

We had to ride our luck in the final ten minutes, but United’s lack of composure meant we never truly looked like conceding. Rodrigo Gomes nearly grabbed a second after a good run down the right, but it wasn’t to be. The ref blew the final whistle on what was a fairly drab match, but Wolves nicked a 1–0 away win to seal three more points—and make history with five consecutive Premier League wins.

Post-Match

Certainly not our most elegant or creative performance, but a gritty, scrappy one. We struggled with the things that have made us successful of late: winning second balls, controlling the tempo, and creating clear chances. But we stuck to our tasks, saw the job through, and came out on top.

Despite United being dreadfully poor, we did what we needed to do. Shout-out to Dan Bentley, who—despite having little to do—kept a clean sheet in his first game in months. André was excellent again in midfield, and Toti, who was my man of the match, looked solid at the back and even drove the attack forward when we were struggling.