Ruben Amorim’s side had the chance to enter the top four, temporarily at least, with a win over bottom placed Wolves at Old Trafford in their final game of 2025, but they were unable to get it over the line.
Forgotten man Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring in the 27th minute with his second Premier League goal of the season, via a wicked deflection off Ladislav Krejci. Interestingly he now has the same number of goals as summer signing Benjamin Sesko.
Krejci made up for his mistake, if you can really call it that, scoring a header just before the break to give Wolves a bit of a lifeline. Patrick Dorgu, the hero from last week thought he’d won it late on, but VAR decided otherwise, and his goal was ruled out.
Wolves now have three points on the board from their 19 games, so at least it looks like they’ve won a game, even if they’re still without one.
A second chance for Zirkzee?
The Dutchman looks destined to leave Man United in the upcoming January transfer window, even if Amroim is reportedly pushing for him to stay, but perhaps that would be too hasty from all parties.
Sesko has really struggled to adapt to life at the club. There is a solid argument that United aren’t playing to his strengths, the Slovenian is a strike that likes to play on the transition rather than with his back to goal, but more is expected of him.
Zirkzee was brought off for academy product and son of Darren Fletcher, Jack Fletcher, at half time, but it was a solid 45. He carried the ball well, made two passes into the final third, and won two of his four duels, all while playing out of position.
Sesko played the full 90, and looked lively, but another goalless game won’t do his confidence any good. Zirkzee has earned another chance to lead the line.
An unhappy reunion for Cunha
The Brazilian was booed by the visiting fans consistently throughout the game. It felt a little harsh considering what he did for Wolves last season, they’d probably be playing in the Championship right now if it wasn’t for Cunha.
He wasn’t at his best, though, in fact, he was very clearly off it. Cunha, playing as United’s number ten, failed to create a single chance, complete a dribble, was dispossessed three times, and had just two touches in the opposition box.
It was mostly just a bad day at the office for Cunha; he’s been good for United since joining in the summer, even if he hasn’t been as prolific as we’re used to. He’ll undoubtedly be annoyed he wasn’t able to shut those boo boys up though.
Captain Lisandro Martinez
The Argentinian capped a fine performance in the win over Newcastle, and his first start since returning from an ACL injury, with an even better one today against Wolves. Everything went through Martinez and added a calming presence to United’s defence.
Martinez, taking on responsibility as captain with Bruno Fernandes out injured, completed the most passes (89), had 103 touches, made nine passes into the final third, and five recoveries. It was a genuinely top performance form a player that has only just come back from a serious injury.
United look far more solid than they did at the start of the season. This result will have frustrated many supporters, and rightly so, as Amorim’s side should be beating Wolves, but there were still positives to take, chief among them the performance of Martínez.