Man United lose at Wolves for 3rd defeat in 4 games

WOLVERHAMPTON, Apr 03 (AP): Manchester United's ambitions of securing a spot in the Champions League next season were damaged by a 2-1 loss at Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Tuesday.

United squandered a 13th-minute lead earned through Scott McTominay's first goal for the club, as Wolves responded with a strike by Diogo Jota and an own goal by Chris Smalling. The second goal came after United captain Ashley Young was sent off for two bookings in a five-minute span.

A win at Molineux would have lifted United into third place but Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's team stayed in fifth, behind fourth-place Tottenham on goal difference and two points adrift of third-place Arsenal having played a game more than both.

Those three teams, plus sixth-place Chelsea, are chasing the two Champions League qualifications spots behind Liverpool and Manchester City.

It is now three losses in four games for United, which is going through its worst spell of results of the season - less than a week after hiring Solskjaer as its permanent manager following a better-than-expected stint as interim coach.

Two of those defeats have come at Molineux, with Wolves also beating United 2-1 in the FA Cup before the international break. They now head to London for Sunday's FA Cup semifinal match against Watford at Wembley Stadium in high spirits.

Meanwhile, Fulham were relegated from the Premier League after collapsing to a 4-1 defeat at Watford on Tuesday, a result which left them 16 points adrift of the safety zone with five games remaining.

The West London side, owned by American businessman Shahid Khan, return to the second-tier Championship just a season after winning the promotion playoffs.

They go down with Huddersfield Town, who on Saturday became only the second team to be relegated from the Premier League before the end of March.