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Pablo Sarabia (left) celebrates after putting Wolves ahead at Old Trafford - Action Images/Lee Smith
Manchester United slumped to their 15th defeat of a miserable Premier League season as Pablo Sarabia’s stunning free-kick secured Wolves’ safety with a fifth straight win.
A game low on chances and quality was settled 13 minutes from time when Christian Eriksen fouled Matheus Cunha a couple of yards outside the penalty area and Sarabia stepped up to sweep a superb free-kick into the top corner.
With Ipswich losing at home to Arsenal, victory was enough to guarantee Wolves’s survival after a long relegation battle and secured a league double over United for the first time since the 1979-80 campaign.
Wolves fans celebrated with chants of “Oh Vitor Pereira” in honour of their manager, who replaced the sacked Gary O’Neil a week before Christmas when the Midlands club were second bottom. Some Wolves players slumped to their knees at the final whistle before going over to celebrate in front of their travelling fans.
For United, this was a case of coming back down to earth with a bump after Thursday’s extraordinary 5-4 comeback win in their Europa League quarter-final second leg against Lyon at Old Trafford.
Rasmus Hojlund endured another difficult afternoon with the Denmark striker’s struggles again underlining United’s desperate need for a new centre-forward in the summer transfer window.
United had already been guaranteed to finish the season with their lowest points total in the Premier League and this defeat saw Wolves move level on points with them. Even if United win their remaining five league games they will only finish with 53 points but their season now hangs on winning the Europa League. They face Athletic Club of Bilbao in the first leg of their semi-final a week on Thursday.
Full match report to follow
04:44 PM BST
Thanks for your company
That wraps up this afternoon’s clockwatch coverage.
Leicester versus Liverpool is the 4:30pm kick-off. Rob Bagchi has you covered, here.
04:41 PM BST
‘It’s not easy to play here’
Wolves manager Vitor Pereira speaking to Match of the Day: “It’s not easy to play here but in the end we got a result.
“Very happy with Pablo [Sarabia] because he has quality but his quality as a person is more important. He believes in himself, he has character.”
“I want to speak about [Dan] Bentley because Sa had the problem with the warm up and Bentley played very well and with character. The fans believed in the team. I’m very happy. Bentley prepared himself for a long time. He wanted to play and he had the chance to play.”
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04:34 PM BST
Free-kick magic at Old Trafford
04:30 PM BST
‘These days are really disappointing’
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim speaking to Sky Sports: “We suffered a goal with their only shot to the goal. They scored a goal and we lose the game. It will be like this, ups and downs and let’s finish the season.
“These days are really disappointing. We were better than the opponents but if you don’t score goals, you don’t win games.”
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04:19 PM BST
‘The second half was not our level’
Fulham manager Marco Silva speaking to Match of the Day: “We were not able to play the second half very well, like we did the first. We did it well first half, the quality, the capacity to keep the ball and to find the right moments to do it.
“Unfortunately for us, we wanted to start the second half in the same way and were not able to connect some passes. Our build-up was not at the same level. They started to play in our half. I really believe the result is very harsh for us but the second half was not our level and we lost the game.”
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04:11 PM BST
‘It could be a big part of the season for us’
Chelsea’s Pedro Neto speaking to Premier League Productions: “I think it could be a big part of the season for us. We showed character. To be honest, I have no words.
“It is not easy to spend all season in the top four and we were out before this game. The character the team showed, we now need to think about Everton.
“When I received the ball, I just span around and shot as hard as I can. The ball went in. The first one, Leno did an unbelievable save and I was so frustrated that the second one I had to put all the power into the shot.”
04:08 PM BST
‘It’s a massive victory’
Wolves match winner Pablo Sarabia speaking to BBC Sport: “It’s a massive victory. We are very happy for this win today and for me as well. Very happy for me and my team today.
“We are fighting every single game. We try to do our best and we are improving a lot. It was a very difficult season for us but we are enjoying now.”
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03:59 PM BST
Full-time scores
Fulham 1 Chelsea 2
United 0 Wolves 1
Chelsea pull off the comeback at Craven Cottage thanks to goals from Tyrique George and a Pedro Neto stoppage-time winner.
At Old Trafford, Wolves complete the double against Manchester United courtesy of a lovely struck Pablo Sarabia free-kick.
03:51 PM BST
GOAL! Pedro Neto scores in stoppage time
Pedro Neto puts Chelsea ahead at Craven Cottage three minutes into stoppage time with a superb finish!
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03:48 PM BST
Excellent finish from George
Tyrique George scored his first Chelsea goal in the Europa Conference League in the first leg against Legia Warsaw earlier in the month and now has his first in the Premier League. And an excellent finish it was too – the 19-year-old did not hesitate when Antonee Robinson inadvertently diverted the ball to where he was lurking just outside the box. His low finish had the beating of Bernd Leno.
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03:42 PM BST
GOAL! Tyrique George equalises for Chelsea
Second-half substitute Tyrique George scores his first Premier League goal and what an important one it could be for Chelsea who draw level with Fulham.
George replaced Jackson on the 78th minute and scored five minutes later.
03:39 PM BST
Fulham hanging on
Fulham are hanging on here and relying on Chelsea’s inability to finish to see this one out. Marco Silva’s side have struggled to retain possession all half and are resorting to hoofing away.
03:37 PM BST
GOAL! Sarabia gives Wolves the lead
Pablo Sarabia puts the visitors in front at Old Trafford with a lovely free-kick from 20 yards out!
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03:33 PM BST
77 mins: Fulham 1 Chelsea 0
Change for Fulham as Tom Cairney comes on for Lukic.
03:23 PM BST
65 mins: United 0 Wolves 0
Amorim makes three substitutions. Bruno Fernandes comes on for Urgate, Diogo Dalot replaces Dorgu and Mason Mount is on for Mainoo.
03:12 PM BST
54 mins: United 0 Wolves 0
Amorim and Pereira opted not to make any changes at the break as Wolves full-back Rayan Ait-Nouri receives a yellow card after fouling Patrick Dorgu.
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03:07 PM BST
Maresca needs his subs to make an impact
No surprise that Maresca has made changes at the break. It’s Malo Gusto for James at the back and Jadon Sancho replacing Madueke. Sancho came off the bench to end his own personal goal drought a week ago with the strike that prevented an embarrassing reverse by Ipswich. Maresca needs a repeat right now or the odds on becoming the next Premier League manager to be sacked will be shortening significantly.
02:58 PM BST
A game very low on quality
After the drama of Thursday night, this has been something of a comedown, even if it’s not exactly a surprise. On the upside, Harry Amass has equipped himself well on his first Premier League start for United at Old Trafford and fellow academy graduate Tyler Fredricson has had a tidy United debut so far.
The game has been very low on quality and chances, though. Jose Sa was injured in the warm up and his replacement in goal for Wolves, Dan Bentley, hasn’t been overextended. He tipped a free-kick from Eriksen over and has dealt well with a couple of corners.
02:52 PM BST
Fulham deserve their half-time lead
Chelsea have had passages of play that looked encouraging, with Palmer getting on the ball regularly and wingers Pedro Neto and Noni Madueke taking on and beating challengers, but there has been no end product.
Fulham deserve their half-time lead; they have been the more energetic and determined side and it shows.
02:49 PM BST
Half-time scores
Fulham 1 Chelsea 0
United 0 Wolves 0
02:42 PM BST
40 mins: Fulham 1 Chelsea 0
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Chelsea defender Levi Colwill receives a yellow card after fouling Raul Jimenez.
02:36 PM BST
32 mins: United 0 Wolves 0
Booking at Old Trafford, Wolves midfielder Andre receives a yellow card after an ugly tackle on Manuel Ugarte.
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02:29 PM BST
Disaster for Chelsea
Disaster for Chelsea as Reece James is mugged in possession by Ryan Sessegnon, who sets up Alex Iwobi for a low drive that beats Robert Sanchez to nestle into the bottom corner. Raul Jimenez was offside this time but not interfering so the goal stands.
James seemed to have no idea that Sessegnon was bearing down on him at speed from behind. Referee Anthony Taylor had no problem with the challenge and VAR did not suggest otherwise.
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02:24 PM BST
GOAL! Iwobi scores for Fulham
Alex Iwobi gives Fulham the lead after finding the back of the net with a great left-footed effort. Sessegnon with the assist.
02:22 PM BST
20 mins: United 0 Wolves 0
Manchester United are edging possession but neither them or Wolves have managed to muster up any shooting attempts.
02:20 PM BST
Both sides look up for it
Andreas Pereira pokes the ball into the net within three minutes of the start following a spell of utter chaos in the Chelsea box. Ryan Sessegnon confirmed as offside in the build-up by VAR but not a start that will give Blues fans confidence that a derby win is forthcoming. Pereira and Jimenez already both look mighty up for this one.
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02:16 PM BST
15 mins: Fulham 0 Chelsea 0
Lively opening quarter at Craven Cottage. Fulham had the ball in the back of the net but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Cole Palmer has also had an attempt on goal saved by Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal.
02:09 PM BST
United fans with a message for the directors
Around half a dozen banners are being paraded in the lower south stand directly in front of the directors’ box, where some loyal fans face being turfed out next season to make way for hospitality packages, taking aim at Sir Jim Ratcliffe.
One says: “Sir Jim, what has the club we love turned into? You know the price of everything and value of nothing”. Two other banners read: “Tourists over fans” and “Decade of loyalty – Sold Out”. This has been a hugely emotive issue for many United fans and they are making their feelings abundantly clear to Ratcliffe and the club’s hierarchy.
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02:06 PM BST
Sa out for Wolves
Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa injured himself in the warm up so has been replaced by Dan Bentley.
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01:54 PM BST
Pressure on Maresca
The pressure is very much on Enzo Maresca, especially after Saturday wins for Manchester City and Aston Villa, their main rivals for that extra Champions League qualification place this season.
Victory will lift Chelsea to fifth, ahead of Villa and Nottingham Forest but the latter can go back ahead and up to third by winning at Tottenham tomorrow.
The fact that Maresca picked Reece James shows how important this match is for Chelsea. His captain can only play one game a week because of previous injury problems but he faced Legia Warsaw in midweek and leads the team out today.
Chelsea fans were not impressed by last week’s 2-2 draw at home with Ipswich despite a stirring comeback – and Maresca blamed the crowd for costing Chelsea a goal with grumbling that persuaded the players to go long instead of continuing to pass out from the back as per his instructions.
Fair to say all is not well at Chelsea right now.
01:52 PM BST
Onana returns in goal for United
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01:38 PM BST
Fredricson handed his United debut as Cunha returns for Wolves
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01:32 PM BST
Players on the pitch at Craven Cottage
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01:11 PM BST
Fulham vs Chelsea: Team details in black and white
Fulham
Fulham have been trying since 1910 to complete a home and away double over Chelsea – and they probably have not had a better chance of doing so for quite a while. Main goal source Rodrigo Muniz is missing from their squad however so Raul Jimenez comes in up front.
Leno, Tete, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Berge, Lukic, Sessegnon, Andreas Pereira, Iwobi, Jimenez.
Substitutes: Benda, Reed, Wilson, Cairney, Traore, Vinicius, Cuenca, Castagne, Willian.
Chelsea
Chelsea’s scoring problems are well-known – no goals for Cole Palmer since January 14 and none for Nicolas Jackson since December 15 but both start. No sign of Christopher Nkunku however.
Sanchez, James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella, Fernandez, Caicedo, Madueke, Palmer, Pedro Neto, Jackson.
Substitutes: Lavia, Acheampong, George, Gusto, Dewsbury-Hall, Sancho, Badiashile, Adarabioyo, Jorgensen.
Referee: Anthony Taylor (Cheshire).
01:07 PM BST
United vs Wolves: Team details in black and white
Manchester United
Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has made five changes from the midweek team that, eventually, beat Lyon. Tyler Fredricson, the 20-year-old defender, will make his debut.
Onana, Fredricson, Lindelof, Mazraoui, Dorgu, Eriksen, Ugarte, Amass, Garnacho, Mainoo, Hojlund.
Substitutes: Heaton, Maguire, Mount, Fernandes, Yoro, Casemiro, Dalot, Evans, Obi.
Wolverhampton Wanderers
Matheus Cunha, meanwhile, returns to Wolves’s starting XI. It will be his first start sine last month.
Jose Sa, Bueno, Agbadou, Toti Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Andre Trindade, Joao Gomes, Ait Nouri, Munetsi, Cunha, Larsen.
Substitutes: Bentley, Doherty, Traore, Rodrigo Gomes, Doyle, Sarabia, Forbs, Djiga, Mane.
Referee: Robert Jones (Merseyside).
12:57 PM BST
And here is Wolves’s starting XI
Two changes from #WOLTOT
Bueno and Cunha come into the starting XI
How we line-up to face @ManUtd.
pic.twitter.com/l9W2uMey8V
— Wolves (@Wolves) April 20, 2025
12:56 PM BST
Manchester United are primed and ready . . .
12:55 PM BST
Chelsea’s starting XI is out . . .
12:55 PM BST
Fulham release their starting XI details . . .
Marco Silva's Fulham.️#FULCHEpic.twitter.com/JcWUG68RBe
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) April 20, 2025
12:45 PM BST
Match previews
Good afternoon and welcome to the clockwatch coverage of two of today’s 2pm Premier League kick-offs.
With Manchester United still on a high from an extraordinary Europa League thrill ride against Lyon in midweek, can head coach Ruben Amorim avoid a hangover and build more end-of-season positivity as Wolverhampton Wanderers visit Old Trafford?
United will have to do so without Joshua Zirkzee, who has been ruled out for the remainder of the campaign with a hamstring problem, so that may mean another chance for teenage striker Chido Obi-Martin to impress. Amorim has hinted a ‘really tired’ Diogo Dalot is among a number of players who could be rested following their heroic exertions against Lyon.
Wolves are unbeaten since Feb 25 and victory today would not only give them their first league double over United in 45 years but also bring up five straight top-flight triumphs for the first time since 1970. Coach Vitor Pereira has named an unchanged starting XI for the past five matches, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Matt Doherty and Hwang Hee-chan are all doubts.
In SW6, it’s west London derby day and, after ending a 45-year wait for a win at Stamford Bridge on Boxing Day, Fulham will be hoping to do a league double over Chelsea for the very first time.
Easier said than done. A wounded Chelsea will be determined to flex their muscles at Craven Cottage following a 2-1 second-leg loss at home to Legia Warsaw in their Europa Conference League quarter-final. Enzo Maresca’s men still progressed to the last four but the loss – to a side currently fifth in the Polish league – came on the back of last weekend’s 2-2 draw against Ipswich Town.
Maresca could welcome back midfielder Romeo Lavia after a month-long injury absence, as well as many of those given the night off against Legia, including the all-action Moises Caicedo. Fulham manager Marco Silva, whose side’s own European ambitions took a hit with a 1-0 loss at Bournemouth on Monday, has a fit-again Harry Wilson at his disposal. The ninth-placed Whites have been consistently inconsistent, with their last eight league results alternating between victory and defeat – they will hope, today at least, that trend continues.
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