Manchester United missed the chance to move third in the Premier League as they threw away a lead, had a man sent off and lost 2-1 at Wolves.
Scott McTominay’s low strike from 22 yards – his first goal for United – put them ahead after 13 minutes but the hosts equalised 12 minutes later as Diogo Jota coolly finished from a Raul Jimenez pass.
The visitors had captain Ashley Young sent off in the 57th minute for two yellow-card offences after he twice fouled Jota in a five-minute spell.
Wolves took advantage as they scored a scrappy second goal when David de Gea failed to collect the ball and it ricocheted off United defender Chris Smalling and into the net to give the hosts the win.
The defeat was the first under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer since he was given the United manager’s job on a full-time basis and left them fifth in the Premier League.
United are level on points with fourth-placed Tottenham and two points behind Arsenal in third, but have now played a game more than both London clubs.
United throw it away
Wolves beat United 2-1 in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup on 16 Match, but Solskjaer will be wondering how they managed to throw away three points here.
The visitors nearly scored within 30 seconds of the start as Jesse Lingard immediately ran at the Wolves defence and was denied by Rui Patricio.
The Wolves goalkeeper also did well to keep out Romelu Lukaku’s close-range header, but was powerless to stop McTominay’s fine strike, although the goalkeeper then did make an excellent save to deny Lingard.
United’s lead was well-deserved, but from then on they self-destructed.
Wolves’ equaliser came after Fred was caught in possession 30 yards from his own goal after a pass out from De Gea, before Young was sent off for a reckless sliding challenge when he was already on a booking, catching Jota halfway up his shin.
Solskjaer will also be furious with Wolves’ winning goal as there seemed to be little danger when Jimenez challenged Phil Jones for a header, but De Gea could not collect the ball cleanly, with it then bouncing off Smalling and creeping over the line.
Wolves’ excellent season continues
For Wolves, it was another excellent result in a wonderful season for them as they close in on their best league finish since coming sixth in 1979-80 and also have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to against Watford at Wembley on Sunday.
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After going behind to McTominay’s goal, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo will be delighted with how his side responded as they enjoyed a bright spell midway through the first half with Jimenez shooting wide before he linked up well with the impressive Jota, who made it 1-1.
Patricio kept Wolves in it with another fine save early in the second half, keeping out a McTominay header after Paul Pogba had glanced on Lukaku’s cross, before Nuno’s side, who only had two shots on goal, scored their second in the 77th minute – albeit with a touch of fortune.
Wolves nearly added a third in injury-time when Ivan Cavaleiro out-paced Victor Lindelof, but saw his well-struck effort bounce off the crossbar.
The win keeps Wolves in seventh place in their first season back in the top flight after winning the Championship in 2017-18.
Only two sides in the past eight years have finished in the top 10 in their first season since winning promotion to the Premier League – West Ham (10th in 2012-13) and Newcastle (10th in 2017-18).
Wolves are also aiming to become the first newly-promoted side to finish in the top eight since Reading finished eighth in 2005-06, while no newly-promoted team has finished higher than that since Ipswich Town came fifth in 2000-01.
