Manchester United’s final act of 2025 ended with the kind of frustrating familiarity that has stalked them too often: control without decisive closure. Wolves, bottom of the table and arriving under the weight of a long losing run, left Old Trafford with a point that felt like relief and, on the strength of their organisation and second-half threat, a result they could fairly argue they earned.
Ruben Amorim set United up in a back three, with wing-backs asked to stretch Wolves horizontally and draw the visitors out of their compact shell. Luke Shaw provided a steady supply line from the left, while United’s front line tried to rotate into pockets between Wolves’ midfield and defence. Rob Edwards, unsurprisingly, prioritised shape and discipline: Wolves defended low, narrow and in numbers, with a clear plan to spring forward quickly whenever United’s circulation became predictable or a duel could be won on the edge of the centre circle.
For much of the first half it felt like a patience drill for the home side. United had the territory, Wolves had the bodies. The early warning for the visitors came when Benjamin Sesko wriggled into a half-yard and steered an effort just wide, a chance that hinted at the value of quicker combinations rather than hopeful crosses into traffic. United’s tempo, at times, was just a touch too polite, allowing Wolves to shuffle across and reset their lines.
The breakthrough in the 27th minute contained both intent and fortune. Teenager Ayden Heaven stepped in to win the ball high up the pitch, surged forward and helped the move into Joshua Zirkzee. The Dutch forward, crowded by blue shirts, created a sliver of space on the edge of the area and hit a shot that took a substantial deflection off Ladislav Krejci, wrong-footing Jose Sa and looping into the net. It was a goal that owed something to luck, but also to United forcing a moment through front-foot pressure and a decisive first touch.
United briefly looked as though they might turn that goal into a runway. Dorgu’s surges from wing-back began to bite, and a Shaw delivery from a corner nearly produced a second when Sesko thundered a header against the post. Wolves wobbled, but they did not collapse. Hwang Hee-chan’s running offered an outlet, while Cunha and Arias carried the ball just well enough on the break to ensure United’s defenders could not simply camp on the halfway line and forget the back door existed.
Wolves’ equaliser, right on half-time, was the kind of moment a struggling team clings to. A corner caused chaos, United failed to clear cleanly, and the ball worked its way to Krejci at the far post. His header was powered back across goal and in off the woodwork, with United’s attempted interventions only adding to the scramble. Old Trafford, which had been building towards the interval in relative comfort, was suddenly simmering with irritation.
The second half brought a noticeable change of pitch. United played with more urgency, pushing quicker into the final third and trying to attack before Wolves could build their defensive wall. Amorim altered things with changes that injected energy, and there was a clear sense of United trying to avoid being drawn into a slow, sideways game that suited the visitors.
But Wolves’ resistance was stubborn and increasingly assured. Krejci, having inadvertently helped United’s opener, responded with a commanding display at the other end, attacking aerial balls, stepping out to intercept, and marshaling the line under sustained pressure. Wolves also carried genuine danger of their own, particularly when United committed numbers and left space behind their wing-backs.
There was even a moment of near farce that could have turned the match on its head: Mosquera headed back towards his own goal without full awareness of Sa’s position, and the goalkeeper had to scramble desperately to claw the ball away before it could cross the line. It was a reminder that football can be a pinball machine at the worst possible times, and Wolves lived to tell the tale.
At the other end, United’s goalkeeper Senne Lammens produced the most important sequence of the second half, a double save that kept the game level: first denying Krejci at close range, then throwing himself onto the rebound before Mosquera could force it in. It was a passage that underlined an uncomfortable truth for the home side: despite their control, they were never fully safe.
Late on, United thought they had found the winner. Cunha slipped Sesko through, Sa saved the initial effort, and Dorgu followed up from close range to score amid a surge of relief. Celebrations were cut short, though, as a VAR check ruled Dorgu offside and disallowed the goal. The decision flattened the home crowd and, rather than simply hanging on, Wolves sensed an opportunity.
In the final minutes the visitors were the side that looked more likely to nick it. Arias threatened with a deflected effort, Wolves’ set plays carried bite, and their late phases had purpose rather than panic. For United, it felt like a match in which the narrative was written in the margins: good approach play, promising moments, but not enough ruthlessness in the key seconds that decide games.
Afterwards, Amorim’s message was direct. He felt United had created enough to win and pointed to missed chances and fine margins as the difference between one point and three. Edwards, by contrast, spoke with the satisfaction of a manager who had demanded a full, consistent performance and largely got it: Wolves were organised, resilient, and brave enough to threaten rather than merely survive.
In the end, the draw captured the evening accurately. United had more of the ball and more of the initiative; Wolves had the better survival instincts and, late on, the sharper belief. Two teams walked away with the same number on the scoreboard, but with very different emotional invoices attached: frustration for the hosts, relief and a flicker of hope for the visitors.
