For the first time in four league games, Manchester United managed a win away from home. At Wolves, a dominant Red Devils initially let the three-pointer slip from their grasp in stoppage time, but still had the final say
Once again, it was scenes off the pitch that kept Erik ten Hag busy in the days leading up to the visit to Wolves. Homegrown player and identification figure Rashford had missed the laborious 4-2 away win at fourth-division side Newport County in the FA Cup because he had stayed away from the final training session after two nights of partying in Belfast.
Returner Rashford scores after five minutes
At Molineux, however, Rashford, who has not been without controversy this season, was not only back in the squad but also in the starting eleven. A controversial decision, but one in which ten Hag did everything right. Rashford was the main asset of a team that dominated from the very first second and took the lead in the fifth minute. The home side then struggled to get any sort of grip on the Red Devils, who were particularly dangerous down the left. This was also the case in the 22nd minute when Rashford picked up Shaw, who set up Höjlund to make it 2:0
Exchange of blows after Man United’s proliferation of chances
Despite the extended lead, Man United did not sit back. Not only did the visitors not concede a single dangerous shot defensively, they also wanted more in attack. However, Casemiro narrowly missed with a header (26′), before Höjlund also missed the curious 3:0 by centimeters when José Sa shot at him (31′). It was the Dane and the Brazilian who closed out the first half with a double strike of a special kind: Within three minutes, both the striker (45) and the clearer (45+3) hit the target – but were both offside.
The supposedly inevitable preliminary decision therefore had to be postponed until the second half, in which the home side initially made significant progress. A lively exchange of blows developed, in which Lisandro Martinez (49) and Onana (58) on the one side and José Sa (55) on the other prevented goals being conceded at the last moment.
Jokers scored on both sides
An already entertaining game was about to get even more exciting after Casemiro brought down Pedro Neto in the Red Devils’ penalty area. Joker Sarabia came on a good seven minutes after his substitution and reduced the deficit to 1:2 (71′). However, the home fans’ jubilation did not last long. What had cost Sarabia seven minutes was achieved by McTominay in under three minutes at the other end. The Scot, who had been brought on moments earlier, nodded in a corner from a free position to restore the gap (75′).
Wolverhampton did not let themselves down, however, and turned up the heat again shortly before the end. Kilman pushed the ball over the line from a corner (85′) and gave Wolves hope again as they looked to crown their comeback in nine minutes of stoppage time: Pedro Neto made it 3:3 after a sparkling counter-attack and the Molineux was upside down (90.+5).
Mainoo countered Pedro Neto by return
The last word, however, belonged to the visitors. More specifically, home-grown Mainoo, who set off on an irresistible solo run just two minutes after the equalizer, slipped the ball through Kilman’s legs and then carefully slotted it into the far corner (90.+7). The 18-year-old’s first Premier League goal gave the Red Devils their first away win after four league games without a win away from home.
The Wolves face their next stumbling heavyweight this weekend. On Sunday afternoon (3pm), the team from the West Midlands will host Chelsea FC. Manchester United host West Ham United at the same time.
