Rooted to the foot of the PL table on just two points from their opening 14 games, Wolves knew a positive display was needed against United, having made the joint-worst start by any side to an English top-flight season.
It was Ruben Amorim’s men, however, who began on the front foot, with Diogo Dalot and Bryan Mbeumo seeing a pair of early efforts well saved by Sam Johnstone.
Not to be denied, the visitors broke the deadlock in the 25th minute as Casemiro dispossessed André in midfield, before picking out former Wolves man Matheus Cunha, who set up Bruno Fernandes for a bundled close-range finish.
Determined to press home their advantage, United went in pursuit of a quickfire second as Cunha saw a strike cleared off the line by Toti Gomes, while at the other end, Jean-Ricner Bellegarde fired a powerful long-range effort off-target.
That was a sign of things to come for the under-pressure hosts, as Rob Edwards’ side restored parity on the stroke of half time when David Moller Wolfe’s cut-back was superbly directed into the far corner by Bellegarde for Wolves’ first goal since October.
The early stages of the second period followed a similar pattern to the first, and United soon found themselves back in front when Dalot broke through the hosts’ backline and unselfishly squared for Mbeumo to tap into an empty net.
Armed with the momentum, the Red Devils extended their lead further shortly after the hour mark, as Fernandes’ inch-perfect delivery was volleyed home by Mason Mount for the Englishman’s third PL goal of the season.
The one-way traffic showed no signs of slowing down with time ticking into the final 20 minutes, and after Cunha and Amad Diallo missed half-chances for Amorim’s men, the visitors were awarded a penalty for a handball against Yerson Mosquera.
Fernandes stepped up to the spot and clinically dispatched the penalty into the bottom-left corner, sealing an eighth successive PL defeat for the increasingly forlorn hosts, who are already guaranteed to stay bottom at Christmas.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Bruno Fernandes (Manchester United)