Wolverhampton Wanderers

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

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While the manner of his goal was bizarre, if anyone was likely to score it, Matheus Cunha was that man.

The Brazilian had actually tried the corner trick in the first-half but on that occasion, United escaped.

"I was shooting, we train to shoot," the forward said afterwards. "The second one I had this luck and scored the goal."

Boss Pereira added: "We tried to put this ball swinging inside, but it's his quality. I think it's not about work, it's individual quality. He's a player in my opinion who can reach high standards in this league."

In a pretty drab opening period, this was the kind of inventiveness that stood out.

Much has been made about the players Wolves have sold and the lack of quality replacing them.

However, as long as they have Cunha, they will always have a goal threat.

"He is one of the best I've ever played with," said strike partner Jorgen Strand Larsen.

Critics may argue he should not have been playing as his FA misconduct charge for an incident after the final whistle of the home defeat by Ipswich on 14 December is still to be heard.

Wolves are making the most of their good fortune.

A disguised pass to Joao Gomes was another moment to savour from the 25-year-old and no neutral could have begrudged him the tap-in had United goalkeeper Andre Onana not got down to prevent Matt Doherty's low cross reaching him.

His reward was to come though. Not only did score, taking his tally for the season to 10, he unselfishly squared a pass to Hwang to provide the South Korean with a tap-in to seal the points in the final minute of stoppage time.

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Wolves manager Vitor Pereira, speaking to Amazon Prime after the win over Manchester United: "I think we have good players with quality, just was missing a mental click to play and I think the commitment today and the supporters with us, it's something special. The Premier League is very special. It's something that takes a long long time to come here, you understand."

On winning his first two Premier League games: "It's not easy, the teams have a lot of quality. When you believe in the work, when the communication is a simple communication, everyone knows the tasks and what they should do on the pitch, it's the quality of the players."

On getting back-to-back clean sheets: "Usually my teams have good defensive organisation and of course I like to see my defensive line as a swiss clock with coordination. But the other parts, the men in attack and midfield must understand when we should press and when we should wait to be compact. These are the two moments we need to understand together."

On his impression of the players: "Before I came I studied the team and in my opinion this team has quality. The energy today with these supporters, today we showed positive energy, confidence in ourselves, confidence in the work we do every day. This is what it is."

On keeping the positive energy in the team: "I said to them now that it's not only about tactical things, it's about spirit, the energy, the commitment, the confidence in themselves. In our lives if we don't have confidence it's impossible to achieve the targets."

On Matheus Cunha's goal: "We tried to put this ball swinging inside, but it's his quality. I think it's not about work, it's individual quality. He's a player in my opinion who can reach high standards in this league."

On the second goal: "This is what I asked them to be. For me a player that has a chance to score and assists is the true spirit of the game. The true spirit of the team is this kind of action. I'm very happy, I can not explain what I'm feeling inside. I'm very, very, very happy."

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Goalscorer Matheus Cunha spoke to Amazon Prime after Wolves' win over Manchester United: "I feel so happy. Vitor came with a lot of energy and we feel this. We come together, we suffer together, we score together. It means a lot, in the stadium you can see how happy they are."

On the impact of new manager Vitor Pereira: "He came here with a lot of energy. He said that he dreamed of coming to the Premier League and we saw this, we can see this energy. We can come with these kind of things."

On whether he meant to score from a corner: "I was shooting, we train to shoot! The second one I had this luck and scored the goal!"

On Hwang Hee-chan's goal: "I feel so happy. He talks to me every day saying 'pass to me, I want to score' and I passed to him and he scored, everybody's happy."

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Vitor Pereira is the first Wolves manager to win his first two top-flight league games in charge since Sammy Chung in August 1977, while he's the second Portuguese manager to win his first two games in charge in the Premier League after Jose Mourinho.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Wolves' performance

What did you make of Manchester United's display?

Come back to this page on Friday to find a selection of your replies

There are eight matches in the Premier League on Thursday, and we will bring you every moment.

• Manchester City v Everton (12:30)

• Bournemouth v Crystal Palace

• Chelsea v Fulham

• Newcastle v Aston Villa

• Nottingham Forest v Tottenham

• Southampton v West Ham

• Wolves v Manchester United (17:30)

• Liverpool v Leicester (20:00)

Kick-off time 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all the action and reaction here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League games this season, against a variety of guests.

This week, he takes on Eats Everything, aka DJ and producer Daniel Pearce, who is a Manchester United fan.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

I usually get a bit of feedback on social media when I predict a Manchester United defeat but it has been very quiet since I said they would lose to Bournemouth on Sunday.

I did not think the scoreline would be 3-0 again, but the reason I went with the Cherries is because they won at Old Trafford last season and, since then, they have improved while United have gone backwards. So, was it really such a surprise?

Moving on to this game, and the same thinking applies. Why would anyone look at Ruben Amorim's side and back them to beat Wolves? I can't think of any compelling reason why anything will be different here.

I feel sorry for Amorim because he arrived with such excitement around his appointment but, only a few weeks later, he must be fully aware of how big a job he faces to turn things around.

United have wasted a fortune to build this squad and, as Amorim keeps saying, he is still trying to find his best XI. This is a trial period for him but he has got to deal with issues like Marcus Rashford's future as well. He has got a lot to sort out.

It is hard to know what Wolves will be like either, though. One of the positives from their win over Leicester in Vitor Pereira's first game was a clean sheet, but you have to remember that the Foxes are bang average.

So, as poor as United have been, I am not going for Wolves to win this either. Instead, I think this will be a tight game and it has got draw written all over it.

Eats Everything's prediction: 0-2

I was hoping our win in the derby would boost our form but obviously that wasn't the case against Bournemouth. Wolves got a good win in in Pereira's first match in charge and playing them in his first home game is going to be tough, but of course I am going to back us.

I'd like to think if Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho are on the bench then one of them will come on and be itching to do something, and make the difference.

Read the full predictions and have your say

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For me, wherever I played, I'd always see where the first game was, where the last game was, and where we were at Christmas.

There is such a big difference between being at home on Boxing Day versus being away because, depending on what your manager is like, if you've got an away game there is a chance you're training on Christmas Day.

Some of the toughest times I had was when we had away games on Boxing Day and we had to come in to train at four or five on Christmas. That's when everything is just starting at home and everyone is really enjoying themselves and you have to leave.

If you lose you are sat in the hotel having walked away from friends and family all for no points. It's not the best feeling and as a consequence you bring home some of that disappointment with you.

But, in reality, you just know it is the busiest time of the year. The floodlights are always on for the games, the conditions get that little bit tougher, you've got games it feels like every three or four days.

I think it's an exciting part of the season because you can gain real, significant momentum but ultimately it comes down to are you winning games.

I think the Christmas period itself can be tough if you have got family but in reality it always feels nicer when you get that win on Boxing Day. The atmosphere in the stadiums is a little bit different, the atmosphere among the players is a bit different.

You're very thankful to get the chance to do what you do, but if you end up losing on Boxing Day or around that spell it is rubbish because it almost feels like it was a waste of time with all the efforts you put in.

But, I get it. The fans love it, there is a lot of clamour around it. You lose track of days just like everyone else does after Christmas and before New Year but it is great to play in front of those types of crowds and it just does feel different playing during that week or two.

Nedum Onuoha was speaking to BBC Sport's Nat Hayward

Dazzling Dave
Fan writer

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For Wolves fans, moments of pure joy have been rare in the past year.

Limbs in the away end have all but vanished, with celebrations reduced to faint flickers of hope.

Yet one memory stands out - a moment that united Wolves supporters and cemented Matheus Cunha's place in our hearts.

It was the fourth round of the FA Cup, a tense and fiery clash against our bitter rivals and near-neighbours West Bromwich Albion. The match was a gritty and tetchy affair - typical of a Black Country derby - but the highlight came courtesy of our number 10.

Wolves were already in the lead, thanks to a phenomenal strike by Pedro Neto, and then came Cunha's moment of magic.

Doubling the advantage with a clinical finish, he ran directly to the away end, his celebration was pure and unapologetic. The Wolves end erupted in unrestrained joy, with a wave of relief washing over fans who knew Monday morning would be free of any ridicule.

In that electric moment, Cunha showed that he truly understood what it meant to wear the shirt.

Fist pumping, badge pointing and arms gesturing to the away fans, Cunha bellowed: "We own this place!" It wasn't just his words - it was the passion and the raw emotion.

The cherry on top? His 'ownership' was briefly immortalised on Wikipedia, where he was humorously listed as the owner of West Bromwich Albion and The Hawthorns. Classic football banter at its finest.

What made it even more special was the history. Wolves hadn't won at The Hawthorns since September 1996 - a staggering 28 years.

That streak had weighed heavily on this fixture, piling pressure on players and fans alike, but Cunha helped end that painful chapter, delivering what felt like sweet redemption for every Wolves fan in attendance.

Unfortunately, such joyous moments have been scarce since. Yet, hope remains.

With Vítor Pereira now at the helm, there is a belief that Wolves can make the necessary changes to rebuild and secure our place in the Premier League.

Let's hope the best is yet to come.

Find more from Dazzling Dave at Always Wolves, external

Can Wolves survive under new boss Vitor Pereira?

The team on Monday Night Club have pondered their chances.

Chris Sutton has a hunch the squad will be strong enough to get the job done.

Watch the full episode on BBC iPlayer or listen on BBC Sounds

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We asked for your thoughts after Sunday's Premier League game between Leicester and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Leicester fans

Paul: A disgraceful appearance - I won't even call it a performance. As professionals, every one of them should hang their heads in shame. I would tell the entire team that they are all dropped and that the reserves or youth team will play the next match. Stupid you might say - no more stupid than letting this happen again. Wolves were not even good. Liverpool on Boxing Day could be 10-0.

Carlos: Every player must take a look at themselves and accept they are letting themselves and this club down. Where is the belief this club once thrived upon? The fans deserve better. Stop feeling sorry for yourselves and show the world that Liverpool can be beaten on Boxing Day. Shameful displays over the past two games.

Ray: A different manager, but the same old rubbish. We have so many lazy players who only turn up for wages. It is now time for the owners of the club to sell them. It will be difficult to get the correct players but they must start in January.

Reuben: Why have we still got Ward? As shown last time we were in the Premier League, he is not good enough! And no club needs four goalkeepers. He is the one to get rid of. If we need to play a different goalkeeper then Iversen is there, he is not bad.

Wolves fans

Richard: Much better. There are some defensive issues and perhaps a better side would have punished us. We took the few chances we had well but, against a tougher team, we might have struggled. I was pleased to see the players closing down and fighting for the ball. It's too early to say that we are staying up, but we needed this bounce. Well done, Wolves.

Frank: Big improvement but too many mistakes in defence. Let's hope this is the start of a revival. I supported Gary O'Neil, but unfortunately he lost it so let's get behind the new manager. Things can only get better.

Oswald: Spirit - that was the key ingredient in this game. The skills are in place, now to build on tactics.

Adam: It's early days but this is why teams change their manager. Something had clearly stopped working for Gary O'Neil in 2024, and these good Premier League players were not showing their worth. This should be the start of us moving towards safety.

Highlights and analysis from Sunday's five Premier League fixtures, plus the best of the action from the rest of the weekend.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

And you can watch Saturday's Match of the Day here.

Listen back to Sunday's full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 0-0 Chelsea

• Man Utd 0-3 Bournemouth

• Tottenham 3-6 Liverpool

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Wolves have won a Premier League match away from home by three or more goals for just the third time but they have done so for the second time this season – their most across a single campaign in the competition (also 4-1 against Fulham).

Wolves have kept a clean sheet in an away Premier League match for the first time in 17 games (0-0 against Brighton in January).

Goncalo Guedes has been directly involved in six goals across his last eight Premier League games (two goals, four assists), after managing just two goal involvements in his first 19 English top-flight appearances.

Ben Collins
BBC Sport journalist

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The opportunity to be a Premier League manager has been a long time coming for Vitor Pereira but he could not have imagined his first game as Wolves boss would be so comfortable.

The Portuguese coach, 56, made four changes to the starting XI Wolves had for what proved to be Gary O'Neil's last game in charge, a late 2-1 home defeat by Ipswich last week.

And two of the players he brought in - compatriots Goncalo Guedes and Rodrigo Gomes - both pounced inside the opening 36 minutes, before top scorer Matheus Cunha made it 3-0 before half-time.

Pereira has not suddenly transformed Wolves into a more fearsome attacking force, they simply took their chances.

After the game, Pereira's players encouraged him to step forward and salute the Wolves fans, and the smile on his face said he was loving every moment.

Now the challenge is to maintain that feel-good factor through the festive period.

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves boss Vitor Pereira has been speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live after picking up his first Premier League win of his managerial career: "I asked them to be proud of our work at the end of the game and to make the supporters proud of our work.

"In three days, to organise the team and give them confidence to play - that is hard.

"I believe that this team will be more comfortable with the ball, with more possession and also creating more situations to score.

"I believe that we will stay in the Premier League and we will play at a better level than we saw today.

"Today I am happy, as the team showed spirit and that spirit is what Wolves supporters want to see."