Erik ten Hag heaped praised on Kobbie Mainoo after the teenage star’s stunning stoppage-time winner sealed Manchester United a needlessly stressful 4-3 win at Wolves.
The misfiring Red Devils produced their best first half performance of the season at Molineux, where Marcus Rashford struck inside five minutes of his first match since last week’s reported Belfast escapades.
The returning star then played a part in Rasmus Hojlund’s bundled second, before United bounced back as substitute Scott McTominay scored shortly after Pablo Sarabia had converted a softly-awarded penalty.
But United wobbled and looked set to blow a much-needed win as Max Kilman scored before Pedro Neto equalised in stoppage time, only for Mainoo’s moment of magic.
The 18-year-old showed skill and courage to take on the Wolves backline, before bending home to win it at the death and spark wild United celebrations.
“To be honest, I had mixed feelings,” boss Ten Hag said after the breathless clash. “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.
“We have the right character, the spirit in the dressing room is very good when you can show this.”
Mainoo was part of the United team that won the FA Youth Cup in 2022 and caught the attention of Ten Hag shortly after he arrived that summer.
The midfielder has made 13 appearances so far this term and would have played more had it not been for an unfortunate injury sustained against Real Madrid in a Houston pre-season friendly.
“I think very quickly I saw him,” Ten Hag said. “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.
“We pushed him a lot by that side, by pushing him in training and you see he makes such good progress and he is almost progressing from game to game.
“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.”
Ten Hag also praised Rashford as the United forward produced an impressive response to days of negative headlines and an internal disciplinary.
“I think the whole team played very good, Rashy as well,” the Dutchman said.
“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.”
As for opposition manager Gary O’Neil, the last-gasp defeat was compounded by Wolves’ inability to bring in a striker on deadline day.
They made an approach for Chelsea’s Armando Broja but could not make the loan signing within the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules, with the striker instead heading to Fulham.
“We couldn’t afford to do it financially, where it ended up,” O’Neil said.
“But we haven’t been deducted 10 points, we’re still together, we’re still putting in performances that show we’re all together. We’ll try and keep it moving that way.”
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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