Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side blew a chance to move into third place in the Premier League as they squandered the lead in a disappointing display at Molineux.

United remain fifth, but their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League via a top-four finish will be further dented if Tottenham and Chelsea win on Wednesday.

It was a frustrating night for Solskjaer, who saw United suffer a third defeat in their last four games – underlining how much work the Norwegian still has in front of him following his appointment as permanent manager last week.

Scott McTominay’s first goal for United was negated by Diogo Jota before the interval, but the game’s turning point proved to be a second yellow card collected by Young with just 57 minutes gone.

United finally caved to Wolves’ pressure 20 minutes later, when Raul Jimenez rose above Phil Jones and headed a Joao Moutinho cross goalwards.

The awkward attempt saw Smalling and goalkeeper David de Gea become entangled, with the former making the final touch as the ball rolled over the line.

McTominay’s memorable first ever goal in professional football had come after just 13 minutes and a solid, controlled start by Solskjaer’s team.

A patient left-wing build-up ended with Jesse Lingard playing the ball centrally to Fred, with the Brazilian quickly moving it sideways to Scotland international McTominay (SuperSport)

•Photo shows Wolves players