Bottom of the table Wolves ended Manchester United's unbeaten Premier League run with a battling 2-1 win at Molineux.
Elokobi & Doyle end United's run
Bottom of the table Wolves ended Manchester United's unbeaten Premier League run with a battling 2-1 win at Molineux.
Things looked too rosy for United when Nani fired them in front after just three minutes when he cut inside the box and fired home a fierce shot past Wayne Hennessey.
Wolves drew level with George Elokobi heading home Matt Jarvis' cross seven minutes later with his second goal of the campaign against United after netting in the Carling Cup defeat at Old Trafford this season.
Kevin Doyle grabbed the winner for Wolves five minutes before the break when he headed home Nenad Milijas' free-kick.
United laid siege to the Wolves goal in the second half, but Wolves held on to record a famous win and add the league leaders to the scalps of Manchester City and Chelsea at Molineux this term.
Judging by the way they began, it seemed as though both Wolves and United had spent the afternoon watching the drama unfold elsewhere and wanted a piece of the action themselves.
Certainly there was precious little attention paid to the defensive side of the game as large holes appeared in midfield and both outfits flew forward at every opportunity.
Milijas had already narrowly failed with one effort before United went in front.
There appeared little danger when Nani collected possession on the right flank.
But Elokobi relaxed for a moment, the Portugal winger stepped inside and then beat Hennessey at his near post with a shot the Wolves goalkeeper should have kept out.
Had Rooney not continued the improvement in goalscoring in evidence in midweek, the visitors might not have been caught.
Instead, he failed to get enough power behind his shot after Dimitar Berbatov had threaded through an excellent pass, allowing Hennessey to make the save.
Wolves made the most of their reprieve too.
Having lost Rio Ferdinand to an injury sustained in the warm-up, United's defence was a touch short of the cohesion required.
And when the loose ball from a corner was shovelled back out to Jarvis, Elokobi beat Nemanja Vidic to the cross and headed into the bottom corner.
What followed had the fans of both teams on their feet and the managers tearing their hair out.
Clear chances came and went at both ends with unstoppable regularity.
For Nani, Ryan Giggs and Berbatov at one end, read Kevin Doyle, Milijas and Jamie O'Hara at the other. O'Hara was denied by a superb feet-first save from Edwin van der Sar after he had tried his luck from an acute angle.
Wolves did not give up. And with United's defence looking vulnerable, it was no surprise the hosts got their noses in front before the interval.
Milijas was the provider, floating an excellent free-kick deep into the United area. There was some confusion among the players over the identity of the scorer, although it went down as Elokobi's goal.
As the debate between Elokobi and Doyle raged after both claimed it, the unavoidable truth was that with the ball once again nestling in the bottom left-hand corner of Van der Sar's goal, Wolves were ahead.
Ferguson made one change at half-time and two more midway through the second period after Paul Scholes' arrival had failed to trigger a comeback.
The exit of Berbatov was slightly surprising on two counts - first his goals, but also because Rooney was showing signs of blowing a fuse, his mood not helped by the booking he picked up for a late challenge on Ronald Zubar.
Rooney was one of many United players to turn away in disgust as Nani screwed a woeful shot wide.
It was an effort born out of pure frustration as Wolves defended tenaciously.
Christophe Berra threw himself in front of a Rooney blockbuster, emphasising the hosts' fighting spirit.
By the final whistle, the Red Devils had lost their cool, reduced to the
desperation of Paul Scholes trying to push the ball into the net to salvage a
point.
| Wolverhampton Wanderers |
Team Statistics |
Manchester United |
| 2 |
Goals |
1 |
| 2 |
1st Half Goals |
1 |
| 4 |
Shots on Target |
4 |
| 1 |
Shots off Target |
7 |
| 4 |
Blocked Shots |
3 |
| 4 |
Corners |
6 |
| 9 |
Fouls |
13 |
| 2 |
Offsides |
3 |
| 2 |
Yellow Cards |
2 |
| 0 |
Red Cards |
0 |
| 67 |
Passing Success |
74.7 |
| 15 |
Tackles |
19 |
| 73.3 |
Tackles Success |
57.9 |
| 41.5 |
Possession |
58.5 |
| 48.3 |
Territorial Advantage |
51.7 |
|
