Ole Gunnar Solskjær must be sick of the sight of Wolves. Only 17 days after being dumped out of the FA Cup quarter-finals by Nuno Espírito Santo’s increasingly impressive team, Manchester United suffered a defeat that could have severe ramifications for their hopes of finishing in the top four.
A match that could not have got off to a better start, after Scott McTominay scored in only 13 minutes, ended with a third defeat in four matches and Solskjær’s first since he was appointed the club’s permanent manager. That United were their own worst enemies compounded his sense of frustration.
A mistake by Fred gifted Wolves their equaliser, Ashley Young was sent off for two bookable offences – Mike Dean, the referee, wasting no time in brandishing his 100th Premier League red card – and Chris Smalling scored an own goal. Throw in the fact United squandered a host of decent opportunities – Solskjær was not exaggerating when he said they could have been 3-0 up – and this will go down as a match he will want to forget.
Wolves, in contrast, will cherish another memorable victory. They have taken 13 points from the top-six clubs this season and this win seemed particularly special given it came hot on the heels of their triumph over the same opponents in the FA Cup last month. “Can we play you every week,” chanted the Wolves supporters.
It certainly felt like the perfect preparation for Sunday’s FA Cup semi-final against Watford at Wembley, when the Wolves players will arrive with a spring in their step, in particular Raúl Jiménez and Diogo Jota, who combined for the first goal and are forming quite a double act up front. “The partnership is very good – the more time they spend together, things come out,” Nuno said. “Mutual knowledge is important.”
Not that this had looked like being a productive night for Wolves in the early stages. Despite the absence of Marcus Rashford, who was ruled out with an ankle injury, United started superbly, with Jesse Lingard’s attempt to take on the Wolves team straight from kick-off – he skipped past several challenges before shooting tamely at Rui Patrício – a sign of things to come.
McTominay’s goal was the least they deserved for their dominance in the first 20 minutes. Romelu Lukaku met Diogo Dalot’s right-wing cross with a powerful header from six yards that Patrício kept out with an instinctive save, while Lingard, who seemed to have the freedom of the penalty area, later saw an attempt to nod the ball into the far corner beaten away by the Wolves goalkeeper.
Patrício, however, could do nothing about McTominay’s goal. A clutch of Wolves players were drawn to Fred, expecting him to shoot after Lingard had picked him out in space, but instead the Brazilian smartly offloaded the ball to McTominay and he drilled a low 25 yard-shot that flew through Willy Boly’s legs and into the far corner.
United seemed to outwit Wolves tactically during that bright opening. Solskjær had decided to deploy Young as a right-sided centre-half in a three-man defence, and United were controlling the midfield area as well as causing plenty of problems with crosses from wide positions. It was Lukaku’s delivery that picked out Lingard for that gilt-edged chance.
That was a reprieve for Wolves and one that seemed to spark them into life as the complexion of the game changed midway through the first half. They were beginning to look more menacing just before Fred’s critical error. David de Gea passed out from the back and João Moutinho pounced after a loose first touch by the United midfielder. Leander Dendoncker then shifted the ball on to Jiménez, who played a lovely pass with the outside of his boot to set Jota free. Played onside by Young, Jota beat De Gea with the minimum of fuss. The Portuguese has scored or assisted a goal in his last seven Premier League matches at Molineux.
In an open and entertaining game, chances came and went at both ends thereafter. Dendoncker wastefully lifted the ball over from the edge of the six-yard box for Wolves, while Lukaku screwed a low shot narrowly wide and McTominay saw a diving header clawed away by Patrício.
Young’s dismissal followed shortly after that McTominay chance and the former England international could have no complaints. His studs were showing and the boot was high as he followed through on Jota after initially making contact with the ball.
Although United coped reasonably well with their numerical disadvantage for a period, they were undone when they failed to deal with Moutinho’s floated centre. Jiménez challenged Phil Jones, the ball squirted off Dendoncker and with De Gea stranded, Smalling nudged the ball over the line with a hand. Ivan Cavaleiro almost made it 3-1 in injury time when he thundered a shot against the bar.
Mike Dean’s first Premier League red card was dished out to Newcastle’s Nolberto Solano in their 1-0 defeat to Ipswich in April 2001, and his 100th went to Ashley Young for a second yellow card in the 2-1 loss at Wolves. It was Young’s second Premier League dismissal – his first was also by Dean, for Aston Villa in January 2009.
Main offenders
In addition to Young, Dean has sent five other players off twice: Andrew Cole (Fulham and Man City), Fernando Torres (Chelsea), Laurent Koscielny (Arsenal), Mike Williamson (Newcastle) and Richard Dunne (Man City).
Reds for the blues
The teams with the most Mike Dean dismissals are Chelsea and Manchester City, with nine each:
Chelsea & Man City 9 Newcastle 7 Arsenal 6 Stoke, Spurs & West Brom 5
Premier League hat-tricks
Dean has shown two red cards in 12 different league games, and has twice shown three reds in one match:
West Brom 1-1 Fulham (Diop, Clement, Cole) Sep 2004
Man City 1-2 Spurs (Fernandes, Dunne, Assou-Ekotto) Nov 2008
In total, Dean has sent 94 players from 33 different teams for an early bath. 51 of his century were straight reds; 49 were for second yellows.
2018-19 has been his busiest season yet, with 10 dismissals. The Wirral official sent off nine players in 2007-08 and 2015-16. Aside from his first two seasons, 2010-11 saw his lowest total with two.
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