Bruno Fernandes was sent off again as Manchester United crashed to an embarrassing 2-0 defeat at lowly Wolves on Thursday, while Fulham came from behind to put a dent in Chelsea’s title ambitions with a 2-1 win.
United suffered a third successive loss in all competitions to leave new boss Ruben Amorim with five defeats in his 10 games since replacing the sacked Erik ten Hag.
Fernandes was dismissed two minutes into the second half at Molineux for a second booking after fouling Nelson Semedo.
It was the third red card for the captain this season. Fernandes previously got red cards in back-to-back games, against Tottenham in the league on Sept. 29 and Porto in the Europa League on Oct. 3. The red card against Spurs was later rescinded.
United’s 10 men cracked in the 58th minute when Matheus Cunha’s corner went straight in as goalkeeper Andre Onana flapped under pressure from Matt Doherty and Santiago Bueno.
Hwang Hee-chan compounded Amorim’s misery when he tapped in with just seconds left.
It was another bitter blow for United, who endured a humiliating 3-0 defeat by Bournemouth at Old Trafford last weekend after losing 4-3 in the League Cup at Tottenham.
With his team marooned in 14th place – just eight points above the relegation zone –Amorim’s woes might not be over, with United facing in-form Newcastle on Monday before traveling to Liverpool in their first game of 2025.
“It’s so tough to win games in this league with 11 men. With 10 men, it’s more difficult,” Amorim said.
“Of course, when you lose, when we don’t win, it’s a step back. It was really hard with the sending off.”
Wolves climbed out of the bottom three thanks to their second successive win under new manager Vitor Pereira.
Dramatic west London derby
At Stamford Bridge, second-placed Chelsea were stunned by Fulham’s late fightback in a dramatic west London derby.
It was Chelsea’s first home defeat against Fulham since 1979.
Cole Palmer put Chelsea ahead after 16 minutes, the England forward drilling home from the edge of the area after weaving through the Fulham defense in dazzling style.
But Fulham levelled with eight minutes left when Antonee Robinson’s cross was headed down by Timothy Castagne and Harry Wilson nodded in from close range.
Chelsea were furious, claiming Alex Iwobi had fouled Pedro Neto in the build-up to the goal.
But there was worse to come for the Blues in stoppage time when Rodrigo Muniz converted Sasa Lukic’s pass with a clinical strike.
Chelsea are four points behind leaders Liverpool, who have two games in hand and were hosting Leicester later on Thursday.
Forest on the rise
Champions Manchester City continued their slide down the Premier League standings with a 1-1 draw with Everton.
Pep Guardiola’s team saw Bernardo Silva sweep home in the 14th minute but Iliman Ndiaye levelled before Erling Haaland missed a penalty, leaving City with just one victory to show for their last 13 matches across all competitions.
City tumbled to seventh in the table, five points behind Arsenal in fourth place, having played a game more.
“Incredible how (City players) run and fight and do everything. Some games have not been good, but today, the case was it was well played,” Guardiola said.
“But football is about winning, football is about you score goals and you don’t concede. The last month, month and a half, we are not able to do it.”
Nottingham Forest climbed to third place after a 1-0 win against sputtering Tottenham at the City Ground thanks to Anthony Elanga’s 28th-minute goal.
Forest’s fourth successive win was sweet revenge for boss Nuno Espirito Santo, whose former club Tottenham had Djed Spence sent off in the closing moments for a second booking.
Tottenham are stuck in 11th as the pressure mounts on boss Ange Postecoglou.
“There’s no harm in looking (at the table) and seeing how well you are doing,” Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson said. “I’ve been keeping an eye on it and I’ll check probably again there but you have to stay level-headed and keep your feet on the ground.”
Newcastle crush Villa
Anthony Gordon, Alexander Isak and Joelinton scored as Newcastle swatted aside 10-man Aston Villa 3-0, moving up to fifth place after winning three consecutive league games for the first time since 2023.
Villa slipped to ninth.
Newcastle got off to a flier in the second minute when Joelinton found Gordon on the left, where the winger curled a shot past the dive of goalkeeper Emi Martinez.
Villa striker Jhon Duran was red-carded in the 32nd minute after a stamp on Fabian Schar following a tackle.
Newcastle doubled their lead in the 59th minute when Jacob Murphy squared the ball to Isak for a tap-in. Joelinton completed the rout in stoppage time.
“We conceded early and that’s demoralizing,” said Villa defender Ezri Konsa. “And then the red card happens and that’s tough. It killed the game, especially as he’s been in good form. We have to move on.”
Jarrod Bowen’s 59th-minute goal gave West Ham a 1-0 win at bottom-of-the-table Southampton after the visitors saw Guido Rodriguez’s red card overturned by VAR.
It was a frustrating start for the new Saints’ boss, Ivan Juric, who had replaced Russell Martin, who had been sacked.
West Ham moved up to 13th in the table. Their two wins and two draws from their last four games have considerably eased the pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui.
Southampton remained rooted to the bottom with a single victory.
An uninspired Bournemouth slipped to sixth after being held to a goalless draw by Crystal Palace.