Marcus Rashford grabbed the headlines at Molineux as Manchester United beat Wolves 1-0.
It wasn’t all that close of a match, even if the scoreline suggests it was, as Manchester United had multiple chances that should have ended up in the back of the net.
Marcus Rashford, who has been in scintillating form since his return from the World Cup, was among the substitutes after being dropped for showing up late to a team meeting.
He came on at half-time and made a big difference.
After receiving a pass from Bruno Fernandes, Rashford made a goal out of nothing which proved to be the winner. He scored again minutes later but the goal was ruled out by VAR for handball.
Below are three observations we took from the game:
Ten Hag handles Rashford brilliantly
I like how Ten Hag takes no prisoners. You can’t bend the rules, even for your best players who are in form, months after giving Alejandro Garnacho the cold shoulder for similar. And it is telling that both players have responded the best way possible.
The fact Rashford came on at half-time told us it was not that serious of a disciplinary issue.
Ten Hag simply underlined how he has standards that he will now allow anyone to drop below.
Just look at how quick Cristiano Ronaldo went running.
Taste of top four
Manchester United go into the New Year in fourth place, but there is still a lot of football to play this season.
Tottenham play Aston Villa tomorrow and we’ll all be hoping to see Antonio Conte’s men slip up once again.
By beating Wolves we’ve done our job by piling on the pressure.
All United need to do is keep winning football matches. That way we won’t be worrying about finishing in the top four come May.
Luke Shaw – the second coming of Daley Blind
Harry Maguire and Victor Lindelof sat on the bench while Luke Shaw started at centre-back alongside Raphael Varane.
The stand-in centre-back was good in the area and showed composure in possession of the ball.
Shaw didn’t have a lot to deal with — just like he didn’t against Nottingham Forest — but United are starting to look a lot more organised as a unit. Even in what was an open game.
Ten Hag played Daley Blind at centre-back for Ajax and you can see the similarities when Shaw plays there. He deserves credit for taking an extra responsibility in recent weeks, but it won’t be long before Lisandro Martinez returns.
We need attacking striker or winger. Martial isn’t one