Wolves 3 (Sarabia pen 71, Kilman 85, Neto 90+5) Man United 4 (Rashford 5, Hojlund 22, McTominay 75, Mainoo 90+7)
Wolves’ nine-match unbeaten run at Molineux came to agonising end as Kobbie Mainoo struck seven minutes into added time to earn Manchester United victory, after Pedro Neto thought he’d salvaged a dramatic point.
The hosts had given themselves an uphill task, trailing by two at the break following Marcus Rashford and Rasmus Hojlund goals, but Wolves had a good go after the interval and almost ended up salvaging something from the contest.
Pablo Sarabia came off the bench to score from the spot, after Neto had been brought down in the box. Scott McTominay then restored United’s two-goal lead with a free header from a corner, but Maximilian Kilman bundled home to set up the grandstand finish.
Wolves thought the stunning ending had arrived when Matheus Cunha fed Neto to fire home a 95th minute equaliser. However, one final lapse at the back from the Old Gold gave United victory, as Mainoo dribbled to the edge of the box and curled a fine finish out of Jose Sa’s reach to win it.
Wolves haven’t had many setbacks in recent weeks, unbeaten in seven going into the game, but this one was going to require more from the moment United took an early lead. Diogo Dalot’s cross saw Hojlund turn inside the Wolves box and lay off for Rashford to curl into the top corner from just inside the box. It was a sloppy goal for Wolves to concede, but they had 85 minutes to rectify it.
That wasn’t going to affect the hosts overly though, as by the 20-minute mark they’d found their feet. Cunha got in down the left and his cross was diverted into the arms of Andre Onana, before the Brazilian then curled straight at the goalkeeper.
However, as easily as they gave away the first goal, Wolves did it again for the second. Nelson Semedo was left isolated two against one and when Rashford slipped Luke Shaw in down the left, he fired across goal for Hojlund to bundle home United’s second goal of the game.
Casemiro then had the chance to put United out of sight, but he headed Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick wide of the near post. Then, after Neto was clipped on the edge of the box, Tommy Doyle whipped a free-kick into the hands of Onana.
In truth, Gary O’Neil’s side will be happy they kept it to two. Disaster almost struck with Jose Sa’s clearance cannoned off Hojlund and just wide, while Fernandes shot wide when well placed. Hojlund and Casemiro then had the ball in the net late in the half, but on both occasions the offside flag saved them.
Half-time | Wolves 0-2 Man United
An early goal after the break was exactly what Wolves needed and they thought they had it when Doyle’s free-kick was met by the head of Kilman, but Lisandro Martinez was on the line to hook clear. The Old Gold, particularly Neto, appealed for a penalty after Onana clattered Kilman late, but nothing was given.
The game was hanging on for Wolves after Toti gave the ball away and Sa bailed him out by keeping out Hojlund with his feet, while Craig Dawson was hugely unfortunate when his goal bound effort came back off the face of Onana, before Cunha curled an effort wide of the post, as Wolves began to up the intensity.
It was that positivity which brought Wolves back into the game. Neto was positive and direct and was caught by Casemiro on the shin. VAR checked it, but the decision remained. Sarabia, fresh from the bench, stepped up to roll down the middle.
However, their task was increased by yet another avoidable goal soon after. From a United corner, McTominay lost Kilman in the six-yard box and he had the simplest of tasks to guide home, beyond a stranded Sa.
At nine minutes were shown on the board, Wolves still had belief, and with United committing bodies forward, Wolves broke through Wolves and as Cunha slipped across for Neto, he came inside and fired home at Onana’s near post to earn a point, or so he thought.
Instead, there was final sting as Mainoo dribbled past Kilman and used the Wolves defenders as a target to curl around, as he whipped into the far corner from the edge of the box, out of Sa’s reach – a cruel ending for the hosts.
Full-time | Wolves 3-4 Man United
Wolves | Sa, Semedo, Kilman, Dawson, Toti (Fraser 83), Doherty (Ait-Nouri 54), Lemina, Doyle (Gomes 82), Neto, Bellegarde (Sarabia 64), Cunha.
Unused subs | Bentley, H Bueno, S Bueno, Hodge, Chirewa.
Man United | Onana, Dalot, Varane, Martinez (Maguire 86), Shaw, Casemiro (McTominay 73), Mainoo, Fernandes, Rashford (Antony 73), Garnacho (Evans 90), Hojlund (Forson 86).
Unused subs | Bayindir, Eriksen, Diallo, Kambbwala.
