Wolves haven’t won at home since December 4, so there wasn’t much hope the bottom ranked team in the Premier League would actually stop Manchester United’s stride towards their fifth league title in six years. Still, a 0-5 home defeat as Ronald Zubar picked up two yellow cards in 11 minutes while Javier Hernandez broke his league scoring drought with a brace. And to think United lost 2-1 on their last visit to the Molineux.
Wolves did have a bit of enthusiasm as the match began, but very quickly Manchester United took over. The ease in which they’ve won just showed how far they are from the rest of the league, or most of it. They’re Champions League failures and in the Europa League as well, outplayed by Athletic Bilbao, probably proves the decline of the Premier League, even among its most successful club.
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People can complain about United’s style and quality, but Alex Ferguson’s side keeps on winning, and critics can keep quiet and with nothing to write about after a 5-0 display. Antonio Valencia was fit and fantastic, scoring the second goal that put the game to bed. Johnny Evans’ opener was just a matter of time, as Wayne Rooney took a surprising break off scoring.
Since their December 1-0 win over Aston Villa, United have scored at least 2 goals in each of their 15 matches, winning 13 of them and losing only one. Style? The numbers prove it doesn’t really matter, as the team has 73 goals in their 29 league matches this season, 2.5 goals per game, and just a hair better than Manchester City with 69 goals in 28 matches.
For Wolves, the team simply looks sad, depressed, maybe even given up, as some of their more talented players might be thinking about securing a contract with a Premier League club next year. Terry Connor, who took over for Mick McCarthy, hasn’t changed much. He has drawn the opener at Newcastle, but hasn’t seen his team score since then, losing three times, conceding 12 goals. He made a terrible substitution in the 43rd minute, immediately punished by Valencia as he blazed past Eggert Jonsson.
Will the title be only decided when Manchester has its third derby of the season on April 30? The way United are romping through, with a comfortable schedule ahead of them and Manchester City looking like they’ve had their best days of the season behind them, the title might be wearing red once again this season.