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Last-gasp
Manchester United moved into second place in the Premier League with a 1-0 win over Wolves on Tuesday night.
The Red Devils had a bit of good fortune to collect all three points when Marcus Rashford’s 93rd-minute strike deflected off Romain Saiss past a helpless Rui Patricio in the Wolves goal.
Match Story
The game’s first-half saw the United control much of the ball though Wolves had more clear-cut opportunities.
The first chance came in the 13th minute.
A nice cutback by Adama Traore who fed Ruben Neves on the edge of the penalty area.
The Wolves midfielder drilled a shot towards goal that David de Gea did well to punch out wide.
Ten minutes later Wolves came close again.
A nice free-kick by Joao Moutinho into the box was well met by Romain Saiss whose header struck the bar.
United’s first big chance came on 34 minutes with some lovely work from Mason Greenwood and Bruno Fernandes.
The Fernandes effort was straight at Rui Patricio who saved easily.
United thought they’d taken the lead in the 70th minute when Eric Bailly headed a Red Devils corner into the path of Edinson Cavani who smashed it into the goal.
The assistant’s flag though was up for offside.
United called for a VAR check after that play when it looked like the ball struck the arm of right-back Conor Coady.
A video replay showed it struck his arm but the officials ruled it was inadvertent so no penalty was given.
Out of nowhere, United found a winner in the 93rd minute.
Marcus Rashford collected a nice long ball from Bruno Fernandes.
Some nice work down the right side got Rashford inside the penalty area where his left-footed drive took a wicked deflection off Saiss and wrong-footed Patricio.
Man of the Match
Marcus Rashford’s strike late in the match capped off what’s been a remarkable month for the local product.
He had five goals in six league fixtures in December two of which were match winners.
Reversing the curse
Rashford’s late strike ended a couple of really long droughts for the man from Wythenshawe.
His goal was the first he’d scored at Old Trafford in the EPL in 845 minutes of play.
The last time he netted for the United at home in the Premier League goes back to last season when he scored in a game against Southampton.
It’s also his first Premier League goal against Wolverhampton.
Giving it away
For Wolves, the heartbreaking loss marks another game where they failed to keep the ball out of their own goal.
The Wanderers have now conceded in nine straight Premier League matches; their joint-longest run without a clean sheet since Nuno became manager.
Better Late than Never
The dramatic victory is the latest United have won a match at Old Trafford since Michael Owen found a winner for United in 2009 against Manchester City.
The Red Devils also maintain their perfect record against Wolves at Old Trafford in the Premier League.
December to Remember
A month that started poorly with losses to PSG and RB Leipzig in the Champions League has ended with United in the thick of the race for the EPL crown heading into 2021.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s team took 14 out of a possible 18 points this month moving them to within 2 points of the leaders Liverpool.
The Red Devils are now unbeaten in their last nine Premier League fixtures.
Who’s next?
United will go for back-to-back home victories this weekend when they face Aston Villa on New Year’s Day.
Game time from Old Trafford is at 8 pm. (JSL).
