Winless Wolves Derail Manchester United’s Top-Four Bid

MANCHESTER : Manchester United’s quest for a Champions League return suffered a significant setback on Tuesday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom-placed Wolverhampton Wanderers. The result marks a bitter end to 2025 for Ruben Amorim’s side, who failed to capitalize on a dominant start.

Making a rare start, Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee gave the home side the lead in the 27th minute. Finding a pocket of space on the edge of the area, Zirkzee’s strike took a significant deflection off Ladislav Krejci, leaving Jose Sa helpless in the Wolves goal.

United looked poised to run away with the game when Benjamin Sesko rose for a corner in the 39th minute, but the Slovenian’s header rattled the post—a moment that would prove to be a turning point.

Wolves, who had lost 11 straight matches heading into the clash, refused to surrender. Just before the interval, Ladislav Krejci turned from villain to hero. Following a defensive lapse from Zirkzee, who inadvertently headed a cross back into the danger zone, Krejci was on hand to nod home at the far post.

The second half saw both keepers forced into world-class saves. United’s Senne Lammens produced a remarkable double save to keep the scores level, while Jose Sa narrowly prevented a bizarre own-goal from teammate Yerson Mosquera.

In the 90th minute, Old Trafford erupted as Patrick Dorgu appeared to have snatched a late winner. However, a lengthy VAR review confirmed the goal was offside, leaving United in 6th place with 30 points and Wolves still anchored to the bottom with just three points from 19 games.