Two-goal Bruno Fernandes leads rampant Manchester United to 4-1 win at hapless Wolves

WOLVERHAMPTON, England (AP) — Bruno Fernandes scored two goals and made another as Manchester United beat Wolverhampton 4-1 to move into the top six of the English Premier League on Monday.

Fernandes' first-half goal was cancelled out on the stroke of half time by Jean-Ricner Bellegarde but Bryan Mbeumo restored United’s lead early in the second half.

Mason Mount added a third in the 62nd minute before Fernandes rounded off a comprehensive victory with an 82nd-minute penalty.

It was the eighth defeat in a row for Wolves and saw sixth-place United move on to 25 points, level with Chelsea, which is fifth.

Wolves remains bottom of the table with two points, eight adrift of the team above it, Burnley.

“We got ourselves back in the game but, with the goals we conceded, you’re never going to get anything out of a game of football," Wolves coach Rob Edwards said.

"There’s a nervousness and I can understand it but, in the big moments in the game, we insisted on giving the ball back to them. We’re getting punished and we’ve got to try and improve and be consistent – but it’s not going to be a quick turnaround.”

Although United has been consistently inconsistent all season, it came into the game as heavy favourites against a team that has one of the worst starting records of any Premier League side at this stage of the campaign.

Thousands of Wolves fans boycotted the first 15 minutes in a coordinated protest at the ownership of the club by Chinese conglomerate Fosun International.

They had barely sat down when United took the lead with a goal that typified Wolves' season.

The Brazilian player Andre lost the ball in midfield and a counter attack led to Fernandes racing inside the Wolves box.

He fought off the attentions of Emmanuel Agbadou and, even though he lost his footing, he still managed to get in a shot that the goalkeeper Sam Johnstone got a hand to but couldn’t stop from rolling into the net.

United failed to capitalize on its pressure and it paid a price seconds before half time.

David Moller Wolfe crossed from the byline and Wolves’ standout performer Bellegarde whipped his volley past Senne Lammens into the United net.

It was Wolves' first league goal since a 3-2 loss at home to Burnley on Oct. 26, and the 13th league game in succession United has failed to keep a clean sheet.

Nevertheless, United outclassed Wolves in a second-half blitz.

Ruben Amorim’s men were 2-1 up after 51 minutes, Mbeumo tapping in Diogo Dalot’s neat pass to complete a fine counter attack.

Mount converted Fernandes' lovely chipped assist 11 minutes later before Fernandes added the fourth.

“The first half we had loads of chances, created a lot going forward and didn’t make as much of them as we should have done," Mount said.

“We let them back into it with some sloppy play, the gaffer (manager Amorim) had some things to say at half time and the onus was on us to put things right with a proper performance in the second half. All our focus was on being ruthless, going forward with purpose and taking our chances.

"It’s good to push up and get the three points but we can’t stop now. We’ve got to keep going,” Mount said.

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Manchester United's head coach Ruben Amorim reacts during the Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wandere and Manchester United in Wolverhampton, England Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes executes a free kick during the Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wandere and Manchester United in Wolverhampton, England Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Andre reacts after the Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wandere and Manchester United in Wolverhampton, England Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchetser United players celebrate after a goal during the Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wandere and Manchester United in Wolverhampton, England Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes celebrates after scoring during the Premier League soccer match between Wolverhampton Wandere and Manchester United in Wolverhampton, England Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (AP Photo/Dave Shopland)

VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania’s government on Tuesday declared a national emergency over security risks posed by meteorological balloons from Russia-allied Belarus that have violated its airspace in recent weeks.

Tensions between Lithuania and Belarus have escalated after the balloons forced Lithuania to repeatedly shut down its main airport, leaving thousands of people stranded.

“In combating the Belarusian hybrid attack, we must take the strictest measures and defend the areas most affected by this attack," Prime Minister Inga Ruginienė said.

The announcement followed a Cabinet meeting of the Baltic state, which is a NATO member and strong backer of Ukraine in its fight against the Russian forces who launched a full-scale invasion in February 2022.

Interior Minister Vladislav Kondratovič said that the state of emergency means the army would be given the possibility to patrol in the border area, together with police and other uniformed services or alone, in order to detect the balloons.

He promised the impact on civilians would be limited.

While the balloons are used to smuggle cigarettes into Lithuania, officials in Vilnius see their numbers and trajectories as deliberate acts of disruption orchestrated by Belarus.

Kondratovič said Lithuanian prosecutors launched an investigation into the balloons and that the secret services would provide information about the connection with the Minsk regime.

“I have no information that the Belarusian side is trying to curb the senders of the balloons," the minister said. "And this is one of the proofs that this is a hybrid attack.”

In October, Lithuanian authorities closed two border crossings in response to the airspace violations by the balloons.

Belarus' authoritarian President Alexander Lukashenko denounced Lithuania’s move to close the border as a “mad scam” and part of a “hybrid war” against his country. He suggested that Vilnius itself needs to combat smuggling of contraband.

Lithuania, Poland and other European Union countries in the region have in recent years accused Belarus of other activity aimed at triggering instability, including with cyberattacks. They also accuse Minsk of directing a large influx of migrants from the Middle East and Africa to their borders to create a migration crisis.

“Belarus is signalling to Lithuania that it can raise the price at any moment," Linas Kojala, head of the Geopolitics and Security Studies Center in Vilnius, told The Associated Press. “Yesterday with weaponized migration, today with balloons that are hardly separable from regime control.”

Europe overall has been on high alert since drone intrusions into NATO’s airspace reached an unprecedented scale in September and the Russian invasion of Ukraine nears its fourth year. However, smuggling balloons are a challenge unique to the Baltic states bordering Belarus.

Representatives of the EU and NATO have expressed support but offered scarce concrete information about what could be done.

“We will sooner or later have to find ways to neutralize these balloons," Kondratovič, the interior minister, said. “According to our data, no country has a solution for shooting down a balloon at an altitude of 10 kilometers (6 miles) using a drone or other kinetic tool,” he told Lithuania's public broadcaster, LRT.

According to the Lithuanian government, since October, the Vilnius international airport has been closed for more than 60 hours due to the threat posed to civil aviation by the balloons, affecting over 350 flights and approximately 51,000 passengers.

FILE - In this undated photo released by the State Border Guard Service, an officer inspects a balloon used to carry cigarettes into Lithuania, because Belarussian smugglers often use them to ferry the contraband into the European Union (State Border Guard Service via AP, File)