Two-goal Fernandes leads rampant Man U to 4-1 win

WOLVERHAMPTON, England:

Bruno Fernandes scored two goals and made another as Manchester United beat Wolverhampton 4-1 to move into the top six of the English Premier League yesterday.

Fernandes' first-half goal was cancelled out on the stroke of halftime by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, but Bryan Mbeumo restored United's lead early in the second half.

Mason Mount added a third in the 62nd minute, before Fernandes rounded off a comprehensive victory with an 82nd-minute penalty.

It was the eighth defeat in a row for Wolves and saw sixth-place United move to 25 points, level with Chelsea, who are fifth.

Wolves remain bottom of the table with two points, eight adrift of the team above them, Burnley.

"We got ourselves back in the game but, with the goals we conceded, you're never going to get anything out of a game of football," Wolves coach Rob Edwards said.

"There's a nervousness and I can understand it but, in the big moments in the game, we insisted on giving the ball back to them. We're getting punished and we've got to try and improve and be consistent - but it's not going to be a quick turnaround."

INCONSISTENT

Although United have been consistently inconsistent all season, they came into the game as heavy favourites against a team that has one of the worst starting records of any Premier League side at this stage of the campaign.

Thousands of Wolves fans boycotted the first 15 minutes in a coordinated protest at the ownership of the club by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.

"The first half we had loads of chances, created a lot going forward and didn't make as much of them as we should have done," Mount said.

"We let them back into it with some sloppy play, the gaffer (manager Amorim) had some things to say at halftime and the onus was on us to put things right with a proper performance in the second half. All our focus was on being ruthless, going forward with purpose and taking our chances.

"It's good to push up and get the three points but we can't stop now. We've got to keep going," Mount said.

- AP