Bruno Fernandes was unable to inspire Manchester United to victory on his debut as the £47m new arrival had to settle for a goalless draw against Wolves at Old Trafford.
In a game of few chances, Fernandes did force a couple of routine saves from fellow countryman Rui Patricio, who also almost dropped another into his own net as he inexplicably fumbled his fellow Portuguese’s tame shot round the post.
The nearest United came to scoring was in the final minute of stoppage time when substitute Diogo Dalot headed Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross narrowly wide, and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men have now taken just four points from five games.
Wolves worked hard but, despite introducing their debutant, Daniel Podence, near the end, also lacked a killer touch in front of goal.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s men have now won once in six games since their memorable comeback triumph against Manchester City on 27 December and, with 13 games of the campaign remaining, are, like United, six points off a Champions League place and behind Sheffield United.
While it could not be described as an explosive debut, Fernandes did enough to indicate he will improve United as an offensive threat.
The former Sporting Lisbon man was eager to get on the ball, took the initiative at set-pieces and was not afraid to shoot.
His first effort drifted wide as he shot from the angle. His second, from a central position, turned out to be the hosts’ only first-half shot on target, which went straight at Patricio.
Almost more noticeable was the ugly stuff. A hoofed clearance from the edge of United’s six-yard box brought chants of ‘Bruno, Bruno’ from the Stretford End behind him.
Then a thunderous challenge on fellow countryman Joao Moutinho eventually brought a cursory check to see if the Wolves midfielder was OK as he lay on the ground receiving treatment.
Another free-kick and the routine shot Patricio almost made a mess of were Fernandes’ second-half highlights, although he will not be able to raise the whole underperforming team on his own.