Amorim wants more after Fernandes brace sees United beat Wolves 2-1 to go 6th in Premier League [video]

Bruno set United on their way with the opener (Photo: Andrew Kearns, Getty Images)

Wolves 1-4 Manchester United

Manchester United moved up to 6th place in the Premier League as Bruno Fernandes struck twice in a convincing victory at beleaguered Wolverhampton Wanderers .

United arrived at Molineux in the midst of inconsistent form, but the dire nature of Wolves’ current predicament facilitated a valuable three points for Ruben Amorim’s side. As well as a brace from Fernandes, fellow Portugal international Diogo Dalot also caught the eye with an assist from left wing-back.

The atmosphere at Wolves has scarcely improved since the decision to fire the previously popular Vitor Pereira as coach in November. The hosts started the game low on confidence and with much of the home crowd absent for the first 15 minutes as supporters staged a protest against the club’s owners amid a winless campaign.

The circumstances invited United to impress and the visitors enjoyed plenty of time and space against their opponents in the early stages. Dalot should have put United ahead with their first clear sight on goal, but the former Porto man was denied by Wolves goalkeeper Sam Jonstone having been played in by the ever-alert Fernandes.

The deadlock was broken in the 25th minute, with Fernandes eventually prodding home after an initial slip following Matheus Cunha’s pass. Yet despite their seemingly positive position, old habits crept into the United ranks and some slack passages of play gave Wolves hope which was fulfilled by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s equaliser on the stroke of half time.

United emerged from the break a far more determined side and just five minutes following the re-start, Dalot’s forward run led to him squaring the ball for Bryan Mbeumo to restore their advantage. Fernandes then turned assist-maker when his cross was beautifully volleyed home by Mason Mount just after the hour to make it 3-1.

Wolves were a beaten side for the remaining half an hour, during which United threatened to rack up am embarrassing scoreline. Ultimately, Fernandes added the fourth and final goal with a well-taken penalty after Wolves defender Yerson Mosquera was cautioned for handball inside his own penalty area.

We took advantage of Wolves - Amorim

“Once again, after we scored a goal we were a little bit sloppy on the ball and that gave hope to the opponent,” Amorin admitted during his post-match press conference. “But we created a lot of chances in the first half also. We should have finished that half in a different way. Then at half time, they understood we have everything to win the game.

“The pace, the quality we showed in the second half. Understanding that the moment of Wolves is really hard as a team, as a club. And we took advantage of that.

“I think we are in the league that is hard to win every week and you can sense that by watching the table. Then this is a specific case. We faced a team that is really struggling and you can sense in every situation of the game. So the next game is going to be completely different. We need to know that.

“But in our club it doesn’t matter, the run you have or if you played quite well the last game. What matters is the way we are going to play the next one. We need to improve the way we play, I think we need to find a different way to play sometimes. We’re working on that and Bournemouth is going to be a different world.”

With the victory, United move to 6th and continue a gradual recover from the low point of September’s 2-1 loss at Brentford, which left them 14th after six matches. The Red Devils’ record since then reads P:9 W: 5 D: 3 L: 1 and European places, but Amorim admits he cannot help but dwell on recent dropped points at home to Everton (0-1) and West Ham (1-1) at Old Trafford.

“You need to distract from looking at Everton: three points that we could have. Two more points against West Ham? Look at the table [United would be 3rd and just three points off leaders Arsenal] and look [how the] environment [would be], look at everything. If you have everything there, let’s do everything.”