In a Premier League classic at Molineux, Kobbie Mainoo’s dramatic 97th-minute goal secured a thrilling 4-3 victory for Manchester United over Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Mainoo skillfully curled his inaugural Premier League goal past Jose Sa, mere seconds after Pedro Neto seemed to have secured a point for Wolves.
Wolves, recovering from a 2-0 halftime deficit and trailing 3-1 on 85 minutes, managed to draw level. However, Manchester United secured the three points with an outstanding performance from 18-year-old Mainoo. Gathering the ball on the left, he skillfully nutmegged Max Kilman, cut inside, and expertly bent the ball into the bottom corner.
Making a triumphant return for Manchester United, Marcus Rashford opened the scoring five minutes into the game. This followed his absence from the FA Cup fourth round due to illness, amidst reports of him missing training after a night out in Belfast. Rasmus Hojlund later doubled the lead for the team.
Pablo Sarabia narrowed the gap from the penalty spot, and Scott McTominay, a second-half substitute, seemingly secured the win for the visitors with a headed goal from a corner 15 minutes before the end. However, the late chaos unfolded as Wolves’ captain, Kilman, scored from close range after a corner, setting the stage for a grandstand finish.
Wolves’ captain Kilman created a thrilling finish by scoring from close range after a corner. However, in the sixth of nine added minutes, Neto capitalized on a break, striking past the wrong-footed Andre Onana. Wolves celebrated prematurely as Mainoo had the final say in this remarkable game. With this victory, Erik ten Hag’s side returned to the top seven, ending a four-match winless streak in away league matches. They are now eight points off the Champions League places, while Wolves maintain their position at 11th.
Rashford scores five minutes into United return
At the beginning of the evening all eyes were on Rashford, who started for United despite being the subject of what the club called an “internal disciplinary matter”.
The forward missed Sunday’s win at Newport County after it was reported last week that he had been seen in nightspots in Northern Ireland on Wednesday and Thursday before arriving to training unwell on Friday.
Ten Hag says he considers the “case closed” as Rashford has “taken responsibility” – and the England international certainly did inside the opening five minutes.
A low cross from the right was flicked back by Hojlund to the edge of the area, and Rashford produced a slick and controlled finish to curl the ball past Sa, before celebrating in front of away fans and being mobbed by team-mates.
Rashford’s connection with Luke Shaw looked refreshed too, with the England duo combining in the Wolves area before the left-back set up Hojlund for the second. The striker slid in to finish from close range from Shaw’s low cross as the Wolves defence failed to clear.
It has been a chastening week for Rashford and United, with Ten Hag forced to field plenty of questions about the forward’s future at Old Trafford.
While Cristiano Ronaldo and Jadon Sancho were forced to leave United after fallouts with the Dutch manager, Rashford has been reintegrated – and showed why he has the trust of Ten Hag.
After scoring early doors, Rashford tracked back nearly 50 yards to hassle Matheus Cunha into shooting straight at Onana – himself returning to the XI, following Cameroon’s early exit from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Indeed, the entire United team was seemingly renewed as they swarmed Wolves in the first 45 minutes. Hojlund was unlucky not to make it three when he charged down a Sa clearance, and both he and Casemiro had goals ruled out by the offside flag.
But United’s issues with inconsistency were laid bare after the break as Wolves were allowed to get back in the game – and ultimately they were left to rely on another academy product in Mainoo to bail them out.
