Mourinho slams his side as Sir Alex

Jose Mourinho accused his Manchester United side of taking their foot off the gas and ignoring “the basic law of football” after they were held at Old Trafford by Wolves.

Having strung together wins over Burnley, Watford and Young Boys respectively, United seemed to be finding a groove, but were brought back down to earth by a sluggish display in front of the returning Sir Alex Ferguson.

They were comfortably second-best in the opening exchanges, but took the lead after 18 minutes when a classy, instinctive pass off Paul Pogba’s instep teed up Fred for his first goal in English football.

The Brazilian’s crisp finish lifted United, but not sufficiently to make the game safe and Wolves grabbed a deserved point in the second half when midfielder Joao Moutinho curled a fine finish past David De Gea.

The afternoon started with a heartfelt ovation for Ferguson, back in the directors’ box for the first time since undergoing brain surgery in May, but it was the travelling support who were celebrating at the end.

A frustrated Mourinho said: “It was not a good performance and not a good result, but a fair result. They (Wolves) play like I like to play, which is like the World Cup final.

“That’s the attitude I like my teams to have every match. We didn’t have that, they did.”

Mourinho bristled at a suggestion that senior players had let him down, happily spreading the blame far and wide. Only his redoubtable goalkeeper De Gea, without whom United would surely have been staring at a first defeat in the fixture since 1980, will feel able to rise entirely above the criticism.

“It’s not about the biggest names, it is my team. And I expect my team to play better,” he added.

“It is a basic law of football, you have to play at the maximum of your potential.”