Wolves beat United at Old Trafford after a late Moutinho goal

 

Joao Moutinho celebrates after pouncing on a lose ball to hand Wolves a shock victory at Old Trafford on Monday night. (Photo credit: Premierleague.com)

Wolves beat Manchester United at Old Trafford on Monday night football, upsetting the odds and handing Ralph Rangnick his first defeat as United manager.

It was a tepid performance and against the convenient wishes of many Manchester United fans, Phil Jones was their best player on the night, he was making his first appearance for the club in well over two years, he was the only good thing about United on the night.

Rangnick named a surprise eleven in his usual 4-2-2-2 formation, leaving out Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes and handing a start to Jones for the first time in 708 days, Harry Maguire was missing and Cristiano Ronaldo was handed the armband.

Wolves came to town with a plan, to stay resolute and compact, Bruno Lage and co stuck to that plan and they never for once looked like they’d lose the game as they had the best chances in the opening exchanges.

With Arsenal losing to City on Saturday, United needed a win to close the gap on fourth place albeit with a game in hand but they huffed and puffed to a defeat as Joao Moutinho scored with winner with just eight minutes on the clock.

"We didn't play well at all individually or collectively. In the first half, we had big problems to keep them away from our goal," he told Sky Sports after the match. "We didn't press at all. We tried but we were not able to get into those pressing situations. They had an overload in midfield and they played via their wing-backs.

"We've been only working two and a half or three weeks after needing to close the training center. We had the results. In times we played well but today we have to admit they're better than us."

United stay in 7^th after the game while Wolves moved up to 8^th, just three points shy of Manchester United with their eyes firmly on a possible top four push, they can dare to dream after a very strong showing at Old Trafford.