Marcus Rashford, who had been benched for disciplinary reasons, came off the bench to give Manchester United the victory over Wolves.
Late in the contest, the England striker scored a lone goal to give Erik ten Hag’s club a 1-0 victory and take them above Tottenham into the top four.
Prior to Rashford’s intervention, Wolves, playing in their first home Premier League game under Julen Lopetegui, competed admirably throughout and were destined to frustrate United.
Soon after, the England forward’s second goal was disallowed for handball, and David de Gea had to make a great save from Raul Jimenez in stoppage time to secure the victory.
United came in having won seven of their previous eight games overall and with a chance to pass Newcastle for third place.
Ten Hag would have anticipated goals, since they have scored in each of their past 10 games and Wolves were weak at the back.
But it proved challenging. With Casemiro’s early header deflected over the bar, United enjoyed the better chances in the first half, but Rashford’s replacement had the best opportunity.
Nelson Semedo’s backpass was intercepted by Alejandro Garnacho, but he was unable to outduel Jose Sa.
In first-half stoppage time, the Wolves goalkeeper did brilliantly to prevent Antony from scoring by clearing the ball off the line.
The closest Wolves came in the first 45 minutes was a weak attempt from the tenacious Diego Costa. At the other end, Wolves attacked but failed to test De Gea.
After Rashford and the effervescent Adama Traore were introduced during the break, the match heated up in the second half.
The Wolves winger originally had more of an impact, and Ruben Neves’ long-range free kick forced a superb stop from De Gea.
Rashford, however, made the breakthrough as Wolves adopted a more cautious strategy and defended their territory.
Following a deft pass from Bruno Fernandes, he evaded Jonny Otto, Nathan Collins, and Toti Gomes to force the ball low into the goal.
Following his return from the World Cup, it was his third goal in as many games. He came close to scoring a fourth when his attempt ricocheted off Sa and into the net, but it was disallowed for handball.
It gave the Wolves hope, and they came close to scoring.
Their only victories this season had come at home against the only two teams in the Premier League standings below them, up until their sudden-death victory at Everton on Boxing Day.
It didn’t give them much hope that they could upset a Manchester United team that was on a roll.
However, they nearly earned a point when Jimenez, who was a replacement, headed forcefully towards goal from Rayan Ait-Nouri’s left-wing corner.
In a close game, De Gea’s save made the difference. This was the player who had received criticism from his boss.
Marcus Rashford for the Red Devils
For the first time since November 2019, Marcus Rashford scored three goals in three consecutive matches for Manchester United in all competitions.
In fact, his goal today marked his 100th goal involvement in the Premier League (65 goals, 35 assists).
Only Ole Gunnar Solskjaer (17) and Javier Hernandez (14) have scored more goals for the team off the bench than Rashford’s 12 Premier League goals.
What Next For Manchester United?
In the upcoming week, Manchester United will host two games at home at Old Trafford.
On Tuesday night in the Premier League, they host Bournemouth, and on Friday, they take on Everton in the third round of the FA Cup.
