20-time English champions Manchester United had Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux Stadium for their Matchday 22 fixture in the English Premier League, and thanks to Kobbie Mainoo, the 18-year-old academy graduate of the club and his late late winning goal in the 90+7th minute, the Red Devils prevented a huge upset in the English top-flight football as they were holding a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes to go in the normal playing time. Teenage wonder Kobbie Mainoo’s winner in the seven-goal thriller gave Erik ten Hag’s Manchester United their 11th league win in the 2023/2024 English Premier League Season with 16 games remaining.
Manchester United Threw Away a 3-1 Lead
Ten Hag’s team could not ask for a better start than what they had in the Wolves matchup, since Marcus Rashford got themselves onto the scoresheet as early as the fifth minute. The 26-year-old England striker with 17 international goals under his belt, was reintegrated to the starting lineup and immediately repaid his manager’s faith with the opener. Diogo Dalot found Rasmus Højlund inside the penalty box, but the Danish striker did not see any room to pull the trigger, opting to set up a shot for his strike partner Rashford instead, who then beat José Sá by firing in a superb goal.
The visiting United did not need to wait long to double their lead, this time Højlund turned into a goal scorer from a provider. Another attacking play started from the right flank, before Alejandro Garnacho charged towards the middle and squared a pass to the left flank for Rashford. The England forward immediately gave the ball to his older compatriot Luke Shaw, who delivered a first-time cross for Højlund to score only his third Premier League goal in 17 matches.
These couples of goals stayed for a large part of the game, until a five-goal scoring spree being witnessed in the final 27 minutes in the normal playing time plus added minutes. Pablo Sarabia, the ex-Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain man who came onto the game as a 64th-minute replacement for Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, gave an instant impact by converting a spot kick to pull one back for Wolves in the 71st minute. However, the two-goal cushion for United was quickly restored in the following moments, courtesy of the visitors’ own substitute Scott McTominay in the 75th minute.
Also Read: How Did Julián Álvarez Help Manchester City to a 3-1 Victory with His Brace?
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Kobbie Mainoo’s First Premier League Goal Sealed the Deal for ten Hag’s Men
Just when United thought they have secured all 3 points in this league clash, Wolves stormed back into the game and levelled things up with goals in the 85th minute and 90+5th minute. 26-year-old club captain Max Kilman was benefited from a ricocheted ball inside the six-yard box during a corner set piece delivery, and the defender was never going to miss the chance to score from such a close range, pulling one back for the home team once again. Wolves’ second goal gave them all the momentum they needed, and Pedro Neto gave Gary O’Neil the equaliser by capping off a wonderful counterattack. United players and fans looked despair at this point of the game.
Nevertheless, as seen numerous times in the past that United always had a way of snatching late wins, the Red Devils managed to win the game with an unlikeliest source in Kobbie Mainoo. The Stockport-born Kobbie Mainoo, who promoted to the senior side earlier this season and scored his first ever goal in the FA Cup Fourth Round last Sunday, caught the ball around the left edge of the penalty box, before the teenager decided to take on the entire Wolves defence on his own. Kobbie Mainoo then curled a shot into the bottom right corner to beat Sá. Wolves could not find another goal this time around, meaning Kobbie Mainoo has won it for United in this seven-goal thriller.
Elsewhere in another Premier League encounter, Liverpool welcomed Chelsea to Anfield, and the current leaders of the English top-flight football showed no mercy against the Blues before their home fans, demolishing Mauricio Pochettino’s men with a 4-1 score line, thus cementing their position at the summit of the Premier League table. Check out this article for the full match details right away!
Ten Hag on Kobbie Mainoo After the Latter’s Winner: “I Hope He Keeps Going with This Progress.”
“To be honest, I had mixed feelings. One side very pleased, of course it’s a massive win this. I think for a neutral fan, spectator of this game, it was great to see but as a manager when you see you dominate a game for an hour, you should go 3 or 4-0 by the hour, because we had the chances and we conceded nothing. But then the way we concede the goals we should manage that better on the pitch, this can’t happen. But then you see the spirit of the team and the resilience and especially in Kobbie Mainoo, that is great to see,” said ten Hag during the post-match conference of the Wolves-Manchester United clash last night.
The Dutch gaffer also added these on 18-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, which he had nothing but praises over the youngster’s progress at the senior level of Manchester United: “I think very quickly I saw him. I think last autumn I saw him for the first time and at that moment I thought he was playing a little bit too comfortable in the Under-21s, he should be much more dominant. And of course, it’s wonderful to see and I hope he stays calm like he is, as he did with his goal as well. He is determined, he is a good character and I hope he keeps going with this progress.”
Last but not least, ten Hag gave his thoughts over performances of other players in addition to that of Kobbie Mainoo’s, especially Rashford, who recently dealt with an internal disciplinary issue. “I think the whole team played very good, Rashy as well. Maybe you know that, you see the last games, there is coming about in the front line and if they get the service in the back they are a threat for every opposition.”
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🚨🚨🎙️| Erik ten Hag on Kobbie Mainoo:
“Last autumn I saw him for first time. I thought he was playing too comfortable in 21s, he should be much more dominant, we pushed him a lot, by showing him but also in training, he makes such good progress. It is wonderful to see. I hope… pic.twitter.com/QJHqTHTchW
— centredevils. (@centredevils) February 1, 2024
