Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim urged patience as his side’s struggles continued with a 2-0 loss to Wolves on Thursday, leaving the Red Devils languishing in 14th place in the Premier League.
United’s night at Molineux turned sour just two minutes into the second half when captain Bruno Fernandes received his third red card of the season. Wolves capitalised, with Matheus Cunha scoring directly from a corner and later assisting Hwang Hee-chan to secure a crucial win that lifted the hosts out of the relegation zone.
Amorim, who has managed just two wins in his first seven league games, acknowledged the magnitude of the task ahead.
“I think we were always in control—not dominating, but in control—but set-pieces and the sending-off were really hard for us,” Amorim said. “It’s going to be a long journey, and this moment is really tough. We need time to train and improve.”
United’s defensive vulnerabilities were exposed again as they conceded from a set-piece for the fifth time in their last five league matches. Andre Onana, pinned by Wolves players during Cunha’s in-swinging corner, was unable to prevent the ball from finding the far corner.
Although Amorim expressed frustration that the goal was not disallowed, he commended his team’s resilience after going down to 10 men.
“Onana couldn’t go for the ball because he had one man in front and one behind,” said Amorim. “But I don’t want to focus on that. The good thing is we created chances even with 10 men, but we lost, and we need to keep working.”
The defeat marked United’s third consecutive loss, following a 4-3 League Cup exit to Tottenham and a 3-0 drubbing by Bournemouth at Old Trafford.
Amorim’s challenges show no signs of easing, with in-form Newcastle visiting Old Trafford on Monday. United then face league leaders Liverpool in their first fixture of 2025, followed by an FA Cup third-round clash away to Arsenal.
