premier league : Manchester United 1 – 0 Wolverhampton Wanderers

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United side go into the new year in second place in the Premier League after Marcus Rashford struck in second-half stoppage-time to earn Manchester United a 1-0 victory over Wolverhampton Wanderers.

United manager made six changes from the Reds’ XI that started our Boxing Day 2-2 draw at Leicester City, four days ago. The Reds’ squad had enjoyed 24 hours more rest than Wolves with the visitors having played last Sunday in a 1-1 draw with Spurs.  

Nuno made four changes to his line-up, bringing in Vitinha and Ki-Jana Hoever for their first Premier League starts, as well as Rayan Ait-Nouri and Maximilian Kilman from the XI that had started at Molineux.

Romain Saiss twice came close to scoring for Wolves in the first half, hitting the crossbar with a header before seeing his near-post flick palmed away by David De Gea. 

Those efforts came either side of Man Utd’s best first-half chance, when Rui Patricio denied Bruno Fernandes from close range on 34 minutes. 

Saiss forced another save from De Gea before Rashford won the match in the final moments. After Fernandes’ long pass, his strike beat Patricio with the help of a deflection. 

Having extended their unbeaten league run to nine matches Man Utd are now just two points behind league leaders Liverpool. Wolves drop to 12th with 21 points. 

Match Stats :

What Next ?

• Man Utd will host Aston Villa at Old Trafford on New Years’ Day
• Wolves will get an extra day rest and will travel to Brighton on 2^nd January

Post-Match Reactions :

Nuno Espirito Santo, Wolves Manager :

“It hurts a lot, especially when you work so hard, but football is that, it goes both ways. It’s what we did in the game which is important. Of course, it’s a tough one to take, but we will take it and go to the next one.

“It was a tough game, but I think we started well. In the first-half, we created situations and created some chances. We combined well and did well in the attack, and sometimes we should have finished better the actions, but we created good offensive situations.

“In the second-half, we were very organized and didn’t allow too many chances to a tough team, until the last moment, unfortunately. It’s cruel, but it’s the game.

“We have to know it requires focus to the last moment, but we did a good game. We were a threat and it’s disappointing in the end and a tough one to take. But the effort of the boys was amazing and the answer of the team was very good. The players that had only one day to recover did brilliant and showed a lot of character.

“It’s too bad that we didn’t take something, but the attitude and the work was amazing.”

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manchester United Manager :

“It was one of those nights when, towards the end, you want fans to help you but we didn’t need that help today. We had a bit of luck with the deflection but you keep going and that is an aspect that this team has developed. The never-give-up attitude. We have done it so many times this season and it is starting to become a habit, which is good.”

“We had to defend well because, on the counter-attack, Wolves are always so dangerous. I thought Eric [Bailly] did fantastically all night, breaking up a few counter-attacks and Nemanja [Matic, in the] second half. We just adjusted a couple of positions in the second half to stop their counters and I think it worked. David [De Gea] had to make a save and he did. It was a good save, it was an important one for us.

“You don’t expect a 4-3 or a 5-4 against Wolves, you expect a tight game. They make you really work for the points and we had to work hard tonight and I think maybe the extra day’s recovery helped us, of course, because they looked tired in the last 20 minutes and you think, keep going boys, don’t stop believing. The belief is there in this group.”