Manchester United 3 Wolves 0
An unfamiliar Wolves team crashed to defeat at Old Trafford as boss Mick McCarthy chose to rest his entire outfield line-up from the side that beat Tottenham.
McCarthy made no secret of the fact that he was going to make "a couple of changes" with Sunday's potentially pivotal clash with Burnley very much in mind.
But to make 10 from the team that beat Tottenham on Saturday was seen to increase the pressure on the returning regulars for this weekend's game.
George Friend and Stefan Maierhofer made their first starts in the Premier League, Matt Hill and Andrew Surman their second, Ronald Zubar and Kevin Foley returned from injury, while George Elokobi, Michael Mancienne and Greg Halford also came in.
Predictably, United started on top and Wayne Rooney forced a point-blank save from Marcus Hahnemann justr three minutes in after the ball broke to him 10 yards out to force the first of five home corners in the first 10 minutes.
Wolves forced the next chance when George Friend, who was only recalled from his loan at Scunthorpe yesterday, volleyed narrowly over after Stefan Maierhofer flicked on Greg Halford's long throw.
But, not surprisingly, United always carried the greater threat and Rooney turned Mancienne only to see his shot deflected wide. Nemanja Vidic also fired narrowly over before United got the breakthrough they were seeking in the 29th minute.
It came via the spot after Zubar needlessly handled Darron Gibson's corner, and Rooney stepped up to confidently despatch low to Hahnemann's right for his 13th goal of the season.
United made it 2-0 on 43 minutes when Vidic's towering header from Gibson's corner proved too powerful for Hahnemann to hold, after the Serbian defender rose above Maierhofer and Zubar.
The home side almost scored a third with the last kick of the half when Hahnemann blocked Gabriel Obertan's shot with his legs.
With the game seemingly lost and the pace almost that of a friendly, the sell-out 3,000 contingent of Wolves fans began to vent their anger with chants of "We want our money back."
The visitors forced a rare half chance when Friend lashed over, after Surman turned back Maierhofer's cross.
But United made it 3-0 when Antonio Valencia crashed home first time to leave Hahnemann rooted to the spot, after Paul Scholes's ball over the top had been hooked into the danger area by Dimitar Berbatov.
With the game now well beyond being competitive, Wolves supporters again made their feelings known about McCarthy's selection policy with loud chants of "Where is our first team?", "£40 to watch the reserves" and again "We want our money back."
McCarthy's selection was hugely controversial, but all will be forgiven if Wolves beat Burnley.
