Manchester United extended their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 30 games as they battled to a lone-goal win over Wolverhampton Wanderers in their opening game of the Premier League season on Monday night.
With both teams failing o win their last season opener, the burden was upon both managers to get off the new season on a promising note.
After what initially looked like a game destined for a stalemate, United took all the spoils with Raphael Varane’s header from Aaron Bissaka’s cross to earn the host a most sought-after win in the 76th minute.
The match also earned Goalkeeper Andre Onana a perfect start recording his first clean sheet since joining the club during the summer transfer window.
The game
Into the game, Erik Ten Hag handed new signings Andre Onana and Mason Mount their debut in the presence of over 50,000 fans at Old Trafford.
Barely three minutes into the game, Wolves attacked the United home with Semendo’s shot deflected off target, and in the 13th minute, the hosts provided what turned out to be their first chance on goal as Marcus Rashford’s close-range shot was parried by Jose Sa.
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It didn’t take too long before Lisandro Martinez became the first player to be booked in the evening by referee Simon Hoopers following his infringement on Neto in the 18th minute.
However, 10 minutes later, Matheus Cunha, having warts past the duo of Casemiro and Martinez, sent a pass to Pablo Sarabia, who failed to slot it past Onana in the left corner.
Meanwhile, the last 10 minutes of the first half saw the Ten Hag side getting themselves together, but several attempts to break the deadlock were scrambled by their visitors.
Second half
Five minutes into the second half, Cunha’s conversion to Sarabia’s low cross hit the bar, and three minutes later, Garnacho lobbed the ball past stranded Sa into Wolves’ net and was cleared by Dwason’s header.
Cunha then tested Onana in the 56th minute before making another goal clearance save from Neto’s 12-yard shot in the 73rd minute.
As the fans became nervous and agitated, Varane gave them a reason for celebration as he broke the deadlock for the hosts in the 76th minute following a header to Aaron Wan Bissaka’s cross.
It was the defender’s second goal in the EPL and first in 26 appearances since he scored his debut last year May against Brentford.
But with a goal in the bag for United, Wolves attempted an equaliser with substitute Matheus putting Onana on the spot in the 83rd minute.
The visitors tried again two minutes later with Pablo Silva’s close-range shot but was parried by Onana by his feet.
Bissaka then deflected Hee Hwang’s shot to a corner in the 94th minute; however, the perfect evening for Onana was almost ruined after his action on Wolves’ player, Sasa Kalajdzic for a possible penalty was overturned after a VAR review.
Having secured all three points in the season opener, United will hope to build on the decent start to the season in their subsequent matches.
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