It was welcome respite for boss Paul Heckingbottom after an age of speculation about his job, while United - roundly written off as relegation fodder - moved to within two points of fourth-placed Bournemouth after breathing fresh life into their campaign.
There was debate over the penalty that delivered victory but United also deserve a lot of credit for bouncing back from Jean-Ricner Bellegarde’s 89th-minute opener to go again and secure a victory that was deserved based on their second-half showing.
Here are nine talking points from a memorable afternoon at Bramall Lane that United now hope will be the catalyst for their own version of the Great Escape...
1. Time stands still
How long was that delay for the VAR check for United’s penalty? It seemed to take an age as a stadium, so desperate for something to cheer about and cling onto, held its breath. The calmest man in Bramall Lane at that moment was probably Ollie Norwood, who took his time to gather his thoughts as Vini Souza held onto the ball as a distraction. There was never any doubt about who was going to take it - Gus Hamer was ahead of Norwood in the penalty pecking order but had gone off earlier with cramp - and Norwood had already made his mind up to leather it as hard as he could. He took a risk by doing so, the ball clipping the crossbar on the way in but it was virtually unsaveable at that height and the scenes it sparked were something to behold as United finally got their season up and running.
2. A club United
The celebrations for both goals demonstrated once again that the Blades are in this together, with players and subs and staff and ball-boys and who knows who else sprinting to the Kop corner flag to savour the moment on both occasions. The Blades are in this together, through good times and bad, and the rousing rendition of his song with Stuart McCall will have no doubt privately meant a lot to Heckingbottom after all the speculation about his job. Many of those belting it out at full-time will have been calling for his head in the weeks previous - that is the fickle nature of football - but as he enjoyed a few beers last night with his family, they will have tasted sweeter than they have in a long time.
3. VAR drama
It was a game that seemed to have more VAR checks than normal - at least two potential penalties for the Blades from memory - but the biggest call came right at the death, when Fabio Silva fouled George Baldock. It capped a disastrous afternoon for the £35m Wolves sub - he came on in the 81st minute, risked a red with an aerial clattering of Baldock within moments of being on the field, missed a sitter of a header and then gave away a penalty - but the decision left his manager Gary O’Neil fuming. O’Neil called it a “terrible” decision but it looked right in real-time and the many replays seemed to only back it up - Baldock got to the ball before Silva and was then fouled. It would be a free-kick anywhere else on the pitch - certainly by Premier League standards, with more on that later - and it was nice to see United get the rub of the green for a change when it comes to those decisions that seem to so often go against them.
4. Hecky’s prison break
Boss Heckingbottom joked he would be in prison if his side had not been awarded the late penalty against Wolves that helped them break their duck. His opposite number Gary O’Neil did not agree but Heckingbottom admitted: “I don’t think you’d have seen me if we hadn’t been given that penalty, I might be in prison somewhere. I have not seen it but the people who have seen have said because there was no contact there was no way it was going to be overturned. It’s one of those where the ref makes the call and there is not enough to overturn the decision. “The dramatic nature of it makes victory feel even sweeter but it would have been harsh had we not won, especially after the way we performed in the second half.”