Moutinho wants Wolves to kick on from Man Utd win

Manchester (United Kingdom) (AFP) – Wolves’ Joao Moutinho wants his team’s victory at Manchester United to act as a springboard after scoring the winner in the club’s first success at Old Trafford in 42 years.

Moutinho’s goal gave Wolves a 1-0 win on Monday to leave the Midlands club eighth in the Premier League — just one place and three points behind United. 

It was no more than Wolves deserved after they managed an impressive 15 shots in the first half alone before the 35-year-old Moutinho struck late on to secure the team’s first win at United since 1980.

“For me, I wanted to help the team of course with a goal, winning here at Old Trafford, against a big team, very good players, a good coach, it’s amazing for us,” Moutinho told Wolves’ website.

“We came here to play our game, play football, play with the ball — that’s what we did in the first half.”

The Portuguese midfielder added: “I think we created a lot of opportunities, a lot of shots, but we didn’t score… We deserved this victory, this win, and I hope we can continue with these performances.”

The result saw United suffer their first defeat under interim manager Ralf Rangnick, with a lacklustre display leaving the English giants four points adrift of the top four and a place in next season’s Champions League.

United defender Luke Shaw even went so far as to question the attitude of his team-mates, prompting former Red Devils and England centre-back Rio Ferdinand to write on Twitter: “For any team to be described like this is terrible… but by a player who participated it’s a damning reflection on the team!”

One consolation for United was the performance of centre-back Phil Jones, who betrayed few signs of a lengthy injury lay-off in what was his first appearance for the club in 708 days.

“What Phil’s been through the last few years… criticised daily, been injured for over a year,” left-back Shaw told MUTV. “He’s had it all going against him, people against him, but he’s stuck by it.

“He’s been a great professional, trained so well. I think maybe his chance has been coming because he’s been training really well and he’s deserved it.”