The hosts rode their luck during an end-to-end contest, but the final whistle brought celebrations as they extended their unbeaten home record to 30 matches.
Having endured a change of manager and a generally tumultuous week leading up to their Old Trafford visit, many expected Wolves to be swiftly put to the sword at the hands of Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils.
That’s not quite how it worked out. Marcus Rashford tested Jose Sa with a low drive early on, but neither side was to know at the time that the visiting goalkeeper would not be called upon again for the rest of the half.
Instead, a free-flowing, flamboyant Wolves stamped their authority on the match, with a supremely confident Matheus Cunha the catalyst.
The Brazilian firstly beat two players on a captivating 60-yard run, setting up Pablo Sarabia to fire just wide, before blitzing Varane for pace and narrowly missing the target himself shortly before the interval.
Cunha’s scintillating first-half performance carried over into the second period as the hosts battled to keep him under wraps. Wolves’ best chance of the game fell to the 24-year-old when the ball trickled through to the back-post, but a lack of composure saw him rattle the woodwork.
Another solo jaunt upfield then saw Pedro Neto found in the centre of the box, but the Portuguese was just as wasteful, with last season’s lowest Premier League goalscorers failing to shake off their unfortunate tag.
Varane ultimately made sure they were punished with 15 minutes to play, nodding in Aaron Wan-Bissaka’s cross to give Ten Hag an ideal start on his quest to keep pace with the Premier League’s title challengers, even if the performance left plenty to be desired.
Wolves can at least take pride in their spirited display at Old Trafford, but O’Neil’s side will need to find their shooting boots later this season to make sure of top-flight safety.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Matheus Cunha (Wolverhampton Wanderers)