'A man possessed' - national media reacts to emphatic Wolves win over Manchester United
The Pereira parade took a statement stamp on its way into the new year on Boxing Day as the new Wolverhampton Wanderers boss christened his Molineux debut with a huge victory against Manchester United.
Vítor Pereira guided Wolves to a 2-0 win against the Red Devils in only his second match in charge of Wolves and his first at home after a 3-0 triumph in his very first game at Leicester City.
Wolves opened the scoring through their talisman striker Matheus Cunha, who whipped the ball in directly from a corner just a couple of minutes before the hour mark. United captain Bruno Fernandes had seen red not long prior, and the hosts capitalised effectively.
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More chances ensued and the Black Country side dealt the sucker punch to Ruben Amorim's men in added time when a clearance saw Cunha and Hwang Hee-Chan up against Andre Onana with the former putting the ball on a plate for the latter to sweep home.
With Wolves now out of the relegation zone and United experiencing back-to-back losses, the national media had much to discuss...
Leader of the pack
Cunha has been by far and away the most exciting and prolific player in the Old Gold ranks this season and the Brazilian once again showed his ability on Boxing Day. An 'olimpico' goal - a strike scored directly from a corner - and a last-minute assist brought his tally up to 10 goals and four assists in the Premier League this season as The Athletic dubbed him Wolves' 'beacon of hope' and 'inspiration'.
It is clear that he has captivated the hearts of Wolves supporters this campaign as the 25-year-old has added to his footballing ability with leadership qualities, ending the game as the skipper at Molineux. The Athletic analysed Cunha's performance as he seemingly played three positions at once in his talismanic Boxing Day display.
Guess who?
The Guardian was clear in its comparison between compatriots Ruben Amorim and Vítor Pereira. Both recent appointments aiming to fix similar issues on the pitch, it was the latter who came away from the Christmas period the happier of the two Portuguese gaffers.
The obvious question was posed of 'where would Wolves be without Cunha?', as the Brazilian shone, but Pereira's defensive solidity was praised with the new boss yet to concede a goal in charge of Wolves who had the worst defensive record in the league before his arrival - it is now joint-worst with Leicester.
How quickly a footballing landscape can change as the threat of relegation begins to dwindle after Wolves' new Portuguese man in the dugout has begun so fruitfully.
Shine in the fog
As was the case at a few Premier League grounds on Boxing Day, fog littered the air at Molineux as Wolves toppled United. The beacon in the lack of visibility was undoubtedly Cunha, according to The Independent, who provided 'confidence and trickery' in the Black Country.
It was highlighted that, despite Wolves and Cunha's brilliant moments, it was not all one-way traffic with the Red Devils stopped a couple of times by José Sá. Diogo Dalot and Lisandro Martínez were both denied by the Portuguese shot-stopper as United looked to change their fortunes.
Playing with purpose
The Sun highlighted the new attributes that Wolves have gained under Pereira as it described the boys in gold as 'playing with purpose'.
The disbelief displayed by the home supporters at Molineux was also pointed out as the board went up to indicate eight added minutes on Thursday evening, however hindsight is a wonderful thing and the additional time allowed for Hwang to slot strike the second blow.
As well as calling Fernandes one of United's worst ever captains, The Sun described some of Amorim's side's passing as 'terrible' as Wolves took advantage of the visitors' lacklustre display to win all three points on Boxing Day.
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