Rooney (pen) 30

Manchester United were all-but-gifted three EPL points by a strange team selection from Wolves’ manager Mick McCarthy, running out comfortable winners without being remotely at their best.

McCarthy changed his entire outfield line-up from the team that pulled off a shock win at Tottenham last Saturday, resting his key players in advance of Wanderers’ home game against Burnley this Sunday.

This was something of a role-reversal as it has usually been United ringing the changes against ‘lesser’ EPL opposition.

The move suggested that McCarthy saw the game as one Wolves could only lose, calling into question the competitive validity of the EPL.

However, despite the visitors’ weakness, the final result was conceivably little different from what it might have been in ‘normal’ selection circumstances. Indeed, a stronger Wolves selection had lost 4-0 at United’s title rivals Chelsea only last month.

Had Wayne Rooney beaten goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann, Wolves’ only survivor from White Hart Lane, with either of two early chances, matters might have been different.

But the game quickly took on the pattern of a pre-season friendly between a league team and a non-league team after Hahnemann denied the England striker in both the third and 11^th minutes.

Wolves hunted United in packs and it needed a penalty to break the deadlock as Wolves defender Ronald Zubar handled Darron Gibson’s corner, Rooney finally beating Hahnemann from the spot.

United’s second, just before the break, also came from a Gibson corner, Nemanja Vidic’s header dribbling across the line after Hahnemann got a hand to it.

Wolves’ George Friend was wildly off-target with an effort in each half, but the visitors scarcely threatened otherwise, despite a more attacking outlook in the second half.

And the game was up on 66 minutes, when Dimitar Berbatov’s deft flick over his and a defender’s head was skilfully half-volleyed home by Antonio Valencia.