Man Utd vs Wolves LIVE RESULT: Rashford scores last minute deflected winner for Red Devils – latest reaction
MAN UTD have moved up to second in the Premier League with a crucial win over Wolves.
Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's men created little in the match but Marcus Rashford came up trumps in the 93rd minute with a deflected strike into the bottom corner.
THE TEAM SHEETS ARE IN!
PORTUGUESE DREAM
Wolves' connection to Portugal has been well documented in the past few years since their association with so-called superagent Jorge Mendes began
Their manager, a host of stellar players and even their away kit all have a touch of A Selecao about them, but even they were surprised by the record they matched two nights ago.
Against Spurs on Sunday, the starting XI named by Nuno Espirito Santo contained seven Portuguese players - Rui Patricio, Nelson Semedo, Ruben Neves, Joao Moutinho, Daniel Podence, Pedro Neto and Fabio Silva.
It was one of only three instances in Premier League history where a team has featured as many non-English players from one in their starting line-up for a match. Fulham fielded seven French players versus Middlesbrough in 2003, while Newcastle also included seven Frenchmen against Liverpool in 2013.
PREVIOUS MEETING
Manchester United and Wolves met on four occasions last season, but only managed to produce three goals in more than 360 minutes of football.
Two draws in the Premier League – 1-1 and 0-0 – sandwiched a pair of FA Cup third round ties which eventually saw the Old Trafford club progress in a replay thanks to Juan Mata’s solitary strike.
The most recent of those four meetings came in a pre-lockdown world on February 1st when more than 73,000 packed into Old Trafford to watch Bruno Fernandes make his United debut.
The game ended scoreless despite 31 attempts on goal, the best of which fell to Diogo Dalot in stoppage time but saw the Portuguese defender head wide.
Diogo Dalot rues a missed opportunity to score the last time Manchester United met Wolves.
LAST TIME OUT
Manchester United’s astonishing run of away victories came to an end on Boxing Day as a late own-goal from substitute Axel Tuanzebe handed Leicester City a share of the spoils in a 2-2 draw at the King Power Stadium.
United had twice led in the East Midlands, first through Marcus Rashford and then Bruno Fernandes, but were pegged back in their pursuit of an 11th consecutive league victory on the road.
Approximately 30 hours later, Wolves also earned themselves a point despite falling behind to a first minute strike from Tanguy Ndombele.
There were just 52 seconds on the clock when the French midfielder fired Spurs into the lead, but Romain Saiss rescued a 1-1 draw with four minutes remaining when heading in Pedro Neto's corner at the near post.
Romain Saiss heads Wolves' equaliser in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham. GOOD EVENING FROM OLD TRAFFORD
Welcome to our live coverage of the Premier League match between Manchester United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The festive feast of football continues in the north-west, and tonight could yet ensure than this most awful of years ends on a high.
After Covid-19 curtailed the club on the other side of the city, United now have the opportunity to climb up to second in the table.
So often derided during his time in charge, victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer this evening would place his side within two points of leaders Liverpool – and in with a genuine shot of a title challenge in 2021.
The Norwegian boss will have to work on a defence that has shipped two goals in each of the last three games, and that task will not be helped by the recent injuries suffered by Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Victor Lindelof.
While United have been struggling to keep goals out, Wolves have been finding them difficult to score.
It’s hardly surprising considering the skull fracture sustained by their talismanic striker Raul Jimenez last month, a horrendous incident that occurred so shortly after the departure of Diogo Jota to Liverpool.
Since Jimenez’s injury, Wolves have netted just four in five games, and have picked up only one victory in that time to leave them in the bottom half.
The likes of Pedro Neto and Daniel Podence have stepped up with shows of skill and energy, but talented teenager Fabio Silva is still finding his feet when it comes to leading the line.
Elsewhere, manager Nuno Espirito Santo still has to contend with the unavailability of Willy Boly, Leander Dendoncker and Jonny.
We’ll bring you confirmation of the two teams shortly with kick-off at Old Trafford to follow at 8pm.
