Mainoo late show seals Man United's thrilling 4-3 win at Wolves

Updated: Feb 1, 2024, 11:02 pm

Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford scored the opening goal and Kobbie Mainoo netted a superb late winner as they beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 4-3 in a thrilling Premier League game at Molineux on Thursday.

Left out of United's 4-2 Cup win over Newport County by manager Erik ten Hag, Rashford marked his return by rattling home the opening goal after five minutes against Wolves and and he helped Luke Shaw tee up Rasmus Hojlund for the second in the 22nd minute.

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United should have had a hatful of goals in a dominant first-half display, and Hojlund and Casemiro had efforts ruled out for offside, but the game roared into life midway through the second half when the home side were awarded a penalty.

Video replays showed there was little contact as Pedro Neto went down under a challenge from Casemiro, who had been booked in the third minute, but after a VAR review the decision to award the penalty kick was confirmed and substitute Pablo Sarabia stepped up to score in the 71st minute.

Kobbie Mainoo's winner against Wolves was the first Premier League goal of his career.
Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images

Scott McTominay struck shortly after coming off the bench to restore the visitors' two-goal cushion in the 75th minute, but the home side weren't done and when Max Kilman reduced the deficit in the 85th minute, it set the scene for a thrilling climax.

Neto levelled in stoppage time, but Mainoo curled home a beautiful effort in the 97th minute to snatch a win that moved United up to seventh in the table on 35 points. Wolves are 11th on 29.

"It is a dream come true," Mainoo told broadcaster TNT after netting his first Premier League goal.

"It is a tough place to come. We had to get the win. I have still not come down from it, I still feel like I'm dreaming, to be honest. To start playing in the Premier League for my boyhood club has been amazing. Now it's about trying to win more games."

United captain Bruno Fernandes praised the 18-year-old Mainoo for his cool finish in the cauldron atmosphere.

"He is a big talent. I have seen him play for the Under-18s and I said a couple of years ago the name of Kobbie without knowing if he would come and play for the first team," he told TNT.

A relieved Erik ten Hag called it a "massive" win for his side.

"I think we played very good and we dictated the game for an hour. We should have gone up 3-0 or 4-0. We didn't and in the end it's quite naive, the way we concede the goals," he said.

"It shouldn't happen, but then we showed great resilience, especially Kobbie Mainoo, it was a great goal," the Dutch manager added.