Renato Veiga and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall each scored their first Chelsea goals in a cracking 4-2 victory over Gent in the Europa Conference League on Thursday.

Enzo Maresca decided to make wholesale changes in the Blues' opening match of the league phase of Europe's third-tier competition, but they were still a class above their Belgian opponents.

Full-back Veiga headed Chelsea into a 12th-minute lead after Mykhailo Mudryk stood up a brilliant cross from the right and Dewsbury-Hall fired into the side-netting when he ought to have scored soon after.

Despite their domination of the ball, it took the Blues until the 46th minute to double their lead when Pedro Neto took hold of Axel Disasi's long punt and fired into the roof of the goal.

Some slack Chelsea defending was punished when Tsuyoshi Watanabe headed in from the cross of Andri Gudjohnsen, son of Blues great Eidur.

Christopher Nkunku rifled home from just inside the area after Gent failed to clear their lines just after the hour and Dewsbury-Hall shot straight through the goalkeeper after Nkunku was tackled attempting to take a shot – with Omri Gandelman celebrating a late consolation for the visitors.

Data Debrief: Dewsbury-Hall stakes his Chelsea claim

This was a great chance for a few Chelsea players to stake their claim for more regular Premier League minutes and Dewsbury-Hall put in an industrious performance to do his chances no harm.

Signed from Leicester City in the last transfer window, the centre midfielder had four shots in total, three of which were in the box, and scored from his one big chance. He also had an impressive 91.2% pass accuracy.

Neto too had a very lively outing, creating five chances in total and finishing with a pass accuracy rate of 97%.

Raheem Sterling has been stripped of the number seven shirt by Chelsea as his exile from Enzo Maresca's first-team squad continues.

Sterling was left out of Chelsea's matchday squad for Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City, with his representatives issuing a statement demanding "clarity" on his future ahead of kick-off.

On Wednesday, Maresca confirmed Sterling was – alongside 14 other players – training away from Chelsea's first-team squad, saying it would be "better" if the winger leaves.

It was then announced by the club that new signing Pedro Neto – who wore the number 19 shirt on his debut versus City – had been given Sterling's old number, with fellow new arrival Joao Felix taking the number 14 shirt after joining from Atletico Madrid.

Trevoh Chalobah previously wore number 14, and the defender is also expected to leave Stamford Bridge before the end of the transfer window.

Sterling joined Chelsea following a hugely successful seven-year stint at Manchester City in 2022, and has made 59 Premier League appearances for the Blues, scoring 14 goals and adding seven assists.

The 29-year-old ranked third among all Chelsea players for dribbles completed (45) in the competition last term, and seventh for chances created, with 30.

Juventus, Newcastle United, Paris Saint-Germain and Aston Villa have all been linked with a move for Sterling, though his reported £250,000 weekly wage could prove an obstacle to a transfer. 

Sterling has also been left out of Chelsea's squad for Thursday's Europa Conference League play-off clash with Servette, as the Blues look to establish a healthy lead to take to Switzerland for the second leg next week.

Ben Chilwell has been told it would be best to leave Chelsea by head coach Enzo Maresca ahead of their Premier League opener against Manchester City on Sunday. 

Chilwell, who has made 106 appearances for the Blues since his reported £45m move from Leicester in 2020, has struggled with injuries in recent years. 

The 27-year-old featured 21 times in all competitions last season, missing 26 games with a hamstring injury which was then followed by a knee issue. 

His subsequent misfortune with injuries has seen him drop down the pecking order at Stamford Bridge, with Marc Cucurella impressing with Spain at Euro 2024. 

Chilwell played 64 minutes in Chelsea's six pre-season games, failing to feature in their final three fixtures before the new campaign against Real Madrid, Manchester City and Inter. 

“Chilly [Chilwell] is with us but he has not been training for the last few days because he has been ill,” Maresca said.

“The reason he did not play versus Inter was because, with Chilly it is quite clear, even though I love the way he is, the problem is, he is struggling a bit to find the right position.

“This morning we had 22 players training and if you ask all of them they will say they want to play against City on Sunday. But that is impossible.

"When you train every day and do not get any minutes it is not good for them or for me.

“I need to make a decision and probably it is better to leave and go and get minutes. The transfer window is open so we’ll see what happens.”

Chelsea kickstart their campaign against reigning champions City on Sunday in what will be Maresca's first competitive game in charge of the club. 

The Blues have continued to add during the transfer window, with Wolves' Pedro Neto the latest of nine new arrivals at Stamford Bridge. 

Maresca now has over 40 players in his squad despite the loan departure of Lesley Ugochukwu and the permanent sale of Diego Moreira earlier this week. 

“We spent 20 days in America with 28 or 29 players, so it was quite good to manage the squad,” Maresca added.

“Now we have guys who are not part of the squad and are training apart.

“At the moment, it is not difficult, but if I start to think I have 43 players, it’s not good.”

Wolves head coach Gary O'Neil has signed a new four-year contract with the club following an impressive first season at the helm.

O'Neil joined Wolves on the eve of the 2023-24 season after Julen Lopetegui resigned over the club's transfer policy, having been sacked by Bournemouth despite leading them to Premier League safety in 2022-23.

Following a slow start, O'Neil won plaudits for keeping Wolves away from a relegation battle, masterminding a memorable victory over Manchester City as well as league doubles over Chelsea and Tottenham.

Wolves were in contention for a European place in March, only for injuries to key attackers Matheus Cunha, Pedro Neto and Hwang Hee-chan to cost them as they faded to a 13th-place finish in the Premier League. 

O'Neil's work with the Molineux club led to suggestions he could attract interest from elsewhere, with the 41-year-old being tentatively linked with Liverpool and England.

Wolves have now moved to tie their boss down until 2028, amid an impressive pre-season that has included dominant wins over West Ham and RB Leipzig in the United States.

O'Neil told the club's website: "I'm really pleased. Me and [sporting director] Matt [Hobbs] started discussing it towards the latter part of last season, but there were a lot of things going on. When the time arrived to discuss it, it was fairly straightforward from my point of view. 

"I'm absolutely loving my time here, my staff love it, my family love it, so it's felt a really special place for us over the past year and I'm looking forward to continuing the journey."

Wolves won more points (46) and scored more goals (50) in the Premier League last season than they did in any of their previous three campaigns, last bettering those figures when they finished seventh under Nuno Espirito Santo in 2019-20 (59 points, 51 goals).

O'Neil's side have brought in Rodrigo Gomes, Pedro Lima and Jorgen Stand Larsen ahead of the new campaign, with their Premier League opener taking them to Arsenal next Saturday.

They sold club captain Max Kilman to West Ham last month, while winger Neto is reportedly close to joining Chelsea in a deal worth a reported £55million. 

What the papers say

Manchester United have identified 21-year-old Everton defender Jarrad Branthwaite as their top transfer target this summer, according to the Daily Star. Branthwaite has a deal with the Toffees until 2027.

The Daily Mirror says United will pursue Branthwaite regardless of boss Erik ten Hag’s future at the club, with the England Under-21 international valued at £75million.

Meanwhile, Everton are said to be interested in Hull defender Jacob Greaves, Football Insider reports, with the 23-year-old likely to leave the club if they miss promotion to the Premier League.

The i says Tiago Pinto, who was formerly at Roma, is interested in taking over the sporting director role from Dan Ashworth at Newcastle, who looks to be headed to Manchester United.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Bruno Guimaraes: Football Transfers says Manchester City are interested in a bid for the 26-year-old Newcastle midfielder who has a £100million clause in his contract.

Pedro Neto: Wolves will be in a battle to keep their winger after Tottenham joined Liverpool, Newcastle and Arsenal in the race to sign the 24-year-old.

Gary O’Neil rated Wolves’ 2-1 victory over Fulham as his favourite of the season given the adversity his side overcame.

With several key players already out, Wolves were forced into two first-half changes because of injuries to Jean-Ricner Bellegarde and key man Pedro Neto.

But second-half goals from full-backs Rayan Ait-Nouri and Nelson Semedo put Wolves in control before Alex Iwobi pulled one back with virtually the last kick of the game.

“Unbelievable win,” said a delighted O’Neil, whose side are up to eighth in the Premier League table.

“My favourite I think in terms of what we’ve had to deal with, the position we were in before the game, the position we found ourselves in 20-odd minutes into the game.

“To find a way to beat a Fulham team that are in a really good moment – when I got their team-sheet I realised how strong they are depth wise, unbelievable bench they had available to them.

“Obviously we’re in a different moment. We can be as strong as that but at this moment we’re not. Then mentally for the players to lose the only attacking players we have left and still be able to find a way to respond I thought was an unbelievable win.

“I’m sure they are, but the supporters should be unbelievably proud of the team that they just saw. If I’d have grown up being a Wolves fan and you asked me what I wanted my team to look like, it would have been that.”

The considerable negative was the two injuries, with Bellegarde sustaining a left knee problem in the opening minutes of the game and Neto then pulling up just before half-time holding his left hamstring.

The Portuguese winger, who missed two months of the season with a right hamstring injury, went off at half-time against Newcastle last week because of tightness in his hamstring, leaving O’Neil to rue his team selection.

“He had a really good week,” said the Wolves boss. “He had a scan that was completely clear, no muscle damage at all, he felt really good yesterday in training, felt good again today.

“That lands on me whether the decision to play him today was right. I’m just devastated for Pedro and how hard he’s worked to get back. We’re hopeful, medical don’t think it’s anything like his first one, but it’ll be a scan and we’ll go from there.

“If I had the team-sheet back again now, of course I’m not putting Pedro Neto’s name on it.”

It was a frustrating afternoon for Fulham boss Marco Silva, who saw Harry Wilson miss a one-on-one and Tosin Adarabioyo hit the bar in the first half.

“We had a chance to come to half-time leading the score clearly,” said Silva. “We didn’t start really well but after the first chance we created, from that moment we built the momentum and we started to be on the front foot.

“But the reality is the game is 95 minutes and the way we started the second half, we played too slow, losing some balls in dangerous areas that we cannot lose. And from that moment we are punished.”

Wolves’ bid for European football was boosted by a 2-1 victory over Fulham, but it came at the expense of more injury problems.

Jean-Ricner Bellegarde limped off with just over 10 minutes gone while Pedro Neto, who had been passed fit after feeling his hamstring last weekend, pulled up just before half-time clutching the back of his left thigh.

But the hosts made Fulham pay for missed opportunities, with Rayan Ait-Nouri scoring his first goal since December 2022 in the 52nd minute and Nelson Semedo adding a deflected second before Alex Iwobi grabbed a very late consolation.

The result lifts Gary O’Neil’s side up to eighth in the Premier League table in the week when it was revealed Wolves will open contract talks with their manager this summer.

Wolves’ strong form was halted by a 3-0 loss to Newcastle last time out while Fulham, looking to win at Molineux for the first time since 1985, were chasing a third Premier League victory in a row.

O’Neil was boosted by the availability of goalkeeper Jose Sa, who went off at half-time last weekend, but Craig Dawson was injured so Santiago Bueno came into the side along with Joao Gomes and 19-year-old striker Nathan Fraser, given a first start for the club.

Fulham’s good run meant the returning Joao Palhinha had to settle for a place on the bench.

With Wolves fans screaming for a foul on Fraser, Fulham went down the other end in the sixth minute and created the first chance of the game – Andreas Pereira’s shot from wide on the left pushed away by Sa.

A tight game was cut open in the 25th minute by an excellent through ball from Iwobi for Harry Wilson but, with only the keeper to beat, he opted to shoot with the outside of his left foot and sent his effort wide.

At the other end, a one-two between Ait-Nouri and Mario Lemina nearly put the full-back through before a heavy touch allowed Bernd Leno to block.

Fulham had their second golden opportunity in the 35th minute when a spell of pressure ended with Harrison Reed sending a ball across the goal for Tosin Adarabioyo, who saw his shot bounce off the top of the bar.

It was Fulham threatening again at the start of the second half, Wilson sending a curling shot just past the post.

But the first goal went the way of the home team, as substitute Toti seized on a weak header by Calvin Bassey from a Wolves free-kick and teed up Ait-Nouri, who had pushed further forward following Neto’s departure, for a confident finish high into the net.

Fulham boss Marco Silva sent on Willian and Tom Cairney for a disappointed-looking Reed and Pereira but their pursuit of an equaliser was leaving gaps at the back and Wolves grabbed their second in the 67th minute.

VAR took a look but Fraser, who had worked tirelessly throughout, was just onside when he ran onto Gomes’ pass. His attempted cross was blocked but Gomes back-heeled the ball to Semedo, whose shot beat Leno via a big deflection off Cairney.

Fulham came agonisingly close to pulling one back with 10 minutes to go, Sa pulling off an acrobatic save to deny substitute Palhinha and Max Kilman heading Rodrigo Muniz’s follow-up off the line, before Wolves old boy Adama Traore’s strong run and shot drew another stop from Sa.

Referee Tony Harrington then lost patience with visiting manager Silva and showed him a yellow card, adding to a frustrating afternoon that was barely improved by Iwobi’s stabbed effort with almost the last kick of the game.

Eddie Howe managed to get a tune out of his team with rock star Mark Knopfler watching as clinical Newcastle ended Wolves’ three-game winning run.

Knopfler was at St James’ Park to unveil a charity recording of the theme from Local Hero, the song to which the Magpies run out, and witnessed a 3-0 home victory – a first in the Premier League since December 16 – courtesy of Alexander Isak’s 15th goal of the season, Anthony Gordon’s 10th and substitute Tino Livramento’s first for the club.

Head coach Howe, who had spoken of his own musical ability – or more accurately, lack of it – in the run-up to the game, came up with the perfect game-plan, sucking Wolves in by allowing them possession and then hitting them on the break in devastating fashion.

The visitors rallied late in the game, but were unable to find a way past keeper Martin Dubravka in front of a crowd of 52,206 at a wintry St James’.

Pedro Neto made an early impression as the visitors attempted to capitalise on the Magpies’ recent defensive issues, and it took a well-time challenge by Fabian Schar to halt his enterprising third-minute run into the penalty area.

As torrential rain fell from slate grey skies over Tyneside, Newcastle gradually eased into their stride, and it was they who took the lead with 14 minutes gone after Schar had picked off Rayan Ait-Nouri’s pass into the box and fed Gordon.

The frontman sprinted away down the left before finding Bruno Guimaraes, whose shot deflected off defender Craig Dawson and looped up for Isak to head home at the far post.

Dan Burn might have made it 2-0 within five minutes after linking with Gordon, but he dragged his attempt harmlessly across the face of goal.

Toti headed over after Dawson had helped Pablo Sarabia’s corner back into the danger area and with Neto menacing, the visitors were very much in the game despite repeatedly finding themselves under the cosh.

However, they fell further behind 12 minutes before the break when Schar played the ball into the feet of Joe Willock, who fed Jacob Murphy to send in a low cross which keeper Jose Sa could only palm away from Isak as he collided with team-mate Max Kilman, and Gordon supplied the finishing touch.

Wolves continued to enjoy a healthy share of the possession, but were unable to do enough with it to force their way back into the game before the break.

O’Neil replaced Sa and Neto with Daniel Bentley and Nathan Fraser before the restart and Howe saw Kieran Trippier limp off within seven minutes as Livramento stepped into the breach.

It took a superb goal-line clearance by Toti to keep out Willock’s 56th-minute diving header from Burn’s cross, but Martin Dubravka was relieved to see Jeanricner Bellegarde’s attempt loop over his bar.

Dubravka found himself at the centre of the action as he dived full-length to keep out Fraser’s skidding drive and then blocked Sarabia’s shot at the far post before plucking Bellegarde’s header out of the air.

Bentley saved at substitute Miguel Almiron’s feet after Guimaraes had turned superbly and clipped the ball into his path, but it was Livramento who sealed the win in stoppage time with a fine solo run and stabbed finish from Schar’s cultured pass.

What the papers say

Wolves’ Portugal winger Pedro Neto, 23, and Crystal Palace’s England international Eberechi Eze, 25, are among Tottenham’s main summer targets, according to The Independent. The club have put a wide-playing forward at the top of their shopping list.

Mason Greenwood’s future at Manchester United will be decided by the end of May. The Sun reports the club will make a decision on the 22-year-old English forward, who is on loan at Getafe.

Dele Alli could be handed a fresh start to his time at Everton. The Daily Express, via The Athletic, reports the club are looking to give the former England midfielder, 27, a new deal.

Liverpool are interested in Brentford’s Cameroon winger Bryan Mbeumo, 24, according to the Daily Express.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jorginho: Arsenal’s Italy midfielder, 32, could return to Serie A in the summer, reports Goal.

Diant Ramaj: Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea are looking at Ajax’s German goalkeeper, 22, according to German outlet Bild.

Ange Postecoglou warned no magic wand will get Tottenham’s top-four tilt back on track after they suffered a 2-1 home defeat to Wolves.

Spurs had returned to fourth position with a last-gasp victory over Brighton last weekend but were leapfrogged on Saturday by Aston Villa, who won at Fulham.

Joao Gomes headed Wolves into a deserved lead after 42 minutes and, while Dejan Kulusevski levelled 34 seconds after the restart for Tottenham, Gomes grabbed his second after an excellent solo run by Pedro Neto with 63 minutes on the clock.

It consigned the hosts to a frustrating defeat and they have now failed to score in the first half of their last five home matches.

“We will work hard, we’ve got two weeks to prepare for our next game (against Crystal Palace) and there’s no point feeling sorry for ourselves,” Postecoglou insisted.

“You take the blows and you’ve got to move on irrespective of what’s happened in the past. You’ve got to make sure you’re ready for the next game.

“There’s no tricks, it’s hard work. I’m not a magician, I’m a football manager. It’s hard work which these guys have done all year.

“Like I said, we’ve got to this point which is pretty decent on the back of some hard work and that’s what we’ll keep doing.”

Spurs were without first-choice full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie and struggled to break Wolves down in the opening 45 minutes with home goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario making fine saves to deny Nelson Semedo and Pablo Sarabia either side of Gomes heading in a corner by Sarabia.

Tottenham came out firing after the break, like they had done in recent wins over Brentford and Brighton, with Kulusevski equalising after he dribbled past Craig Dawson and poked under Jose Sa.

Postecoglou’s team were beginning to build a head of steam but Wolves remained a threat on the break and, after Vicario denied Sarabia in the 56th minute, the visitors’ second arrived six minutes later.

Yves Bissouma lost possession after a Spurs corner and Neto carried the ball half the length of the pitch before he cut back and teed up Gomes, who slammed home for his second of the afternoon.

A raft of attacking players were thrown on by Postecoglou, but Jean-Ricner Bellegarde, Toti and Neto all squandered promising positions for Wolves before Ben Davies headed wide deep into stoppage-time for Tottenham to ensure Gary O’Neil’s side completed the double over the north London outfit.

Neto’s moment of individual brilliance was his ninth assist of the campaign but his manager issued a hands off to potential suitors after they moved on to 35 points for the season.

O’Neil said: “I still want to push him and get him as close to perfect as a wide player as we can.

“Yeah, I’ve been asked a few times this week about the summer already and I’m not interested in discussing Pedro Neto leaving the football club.

“He is a fantastic player that we spent a lot of money on, that we work very hard on and as far as I’m concerned, we don’t want to lose our best players.

“We have a long way to go yet this season and then hopefully he stays with us and we can keep pushing towards the top half of the table.”

Tottenham’s top-four hopes suffered a blow after a Joao Gomes brace fired Wolves to a deserved 2-1 away win in north London.

Spurs had claimed back fourth spot from Aston Villa with a last-gasp victory over Brighton last weekend but struggled to break down Gary O’Neil’s side.

Gomes headed Wolves ahead in the 42nd minute and, while Dejan Kulusevski levelled for Tottenham straight after half-time, Pedro Neto’s wonderful solo run settled the contest.

Neto raced half the length of the pitch before he teed up Gomes to side-foot home with 63 minutes played to earn the visitors to a fourth win from their last five matches.

There was a big contingent of South Korea fans inside the stadium with two of the nations’ best going head-to-head and Hwang Hee-chan should have scored in the fifth minute.

Wolves worked the ball out wide to Nelson Semedo, who was denied by Guglielmo Vicario and Hwang inexplicably sliced over the rebound from close range.

Spurs threatened for the first time soon after when Ben Davies fired over on the turn before the visitors created another promising opportunity but Rayan Ait-Nouri curled straight at Vicario.

The stop-start nature to the contest continued although Tottenham enjoyed a rare foray into the away penalty area with 36 minutes played only for Kulusevski to side foot well wide from James Maddison’s pass.

Wolves had frustrated the hosts’ well, while also proving a threat and made their dominance count with 42 minutes on the clock.

From Wolves’ second corner of the match Pablo Sarabia picked out Gomes, who headed into the top corner after being given too much space.

It was a deserved breakthrough but sparked a frantic finish to the half with Vicario pushing wide a curler by Sarabia, who was offside before the same player flashed an effort off target.

Ange Postecoglou’s team did test Jose Sa through Emerson Royal but it stayed 1-0 at the break.

It meant Tottenham had failed to score in the first half of five consecutive home matches, although they quickly hit their straps after half-time.

The equaliser arrived 34 seconds into the second half and it was all about Kulusevski.

Richarlison knocked the ball into the path of the Sweden international, who dribbled past Craig Dawson close to the byline before he poked under Sa for a superb sixth goal of the season.

Spurs were pushing for a second but Wolves remained dangerous, especially on the break and Vicario impressively denied Sarabia after Semedo’s cross.

Back came Tottenham with Kulusevski’s low effort excellently tipped wide by Sa before Semedo blocked another shot from the Swedish forward in the 63rd minute.

It earned the hosts another corner but they were hit with a sucker-punch after a moment of individual brilliance by Neto.

Yves Bissouma lost possession on the edge of Wolves’ penalty area and Neto carried the ball half the length of the pitch before he cut inside Emerson and teed up Gomes, who slammed home for his second of the afternoon.

Tottenham attempted to respond straight away and Maddison curled over before Postecoglou turned to his bench with Rodrigo Bentancur, Brennan Johnson and Timo Werner sent on.

Chances remained at a premium until Kulusevski picked out the unmarked Davies deep into stoppage-time but the Welsh defender headed well wide to ensure Wolves completed the double over Spurs.

What the papers say

Wolves may look to sell star winger Pedro Neto this summer to avoid breaching profit and sustainability rules, with several papers reporting the Midlands outfit are willing to do business. Liverpool, Arsenal, Tottenham and Manchester United are interested in the 23-year-old, who has scored two goals with eight assists in 15 games this season.

Barcelona have shown interest in Manchester City and England winger Lauren Hemp with her contract set to expire in summer and reports of uncertainty over her future at the club, the Standard says. Hemp has scored seven goals with five assists this season.

The Guardian says Crystal Palace are looking at former Eintracht Frankfurt boss Oliver Glasner to replace Roy Hodgson if they decide to part ways with the veteran manager, while the Telegraph says former Chelsea manager Graham Potter could replace David Moyes at West Ham.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Michael Olise: Palace will be in a battle to keep their 22-year-old winger with 90min reporting Manchester United are showing interest in the French under-21 international.

Lucas Paqueta: The West Ham midfielder with two goals and five assists in 18 games in the Premier League is on Manchester City’s radar, Football Insider says.

Kobbie Mainoo’s dramatic late winner fired Manchester United to a stunning 4-3 win at Wolves as Marcus Rashford shook off any Belfast blues.

The 18-year-old midfielder’s first Premier League goal shocked Molineux in stoppage time after Pedro Neto’s leveller looked to have snatched a point for the hosts just two minutes earlier.

Pablo Sarabia’s penalty and Max Kilman’s close-range strike had given Wolves – who initially came back from 2-0 and 3-1 down – hope either side of Scott McTominay’s second-half header.

Rashford had earlier scored and helped assist Rasmus Hojlund after being disciplined by boss Erik ten Hag.

He called in sick on Friday and was omitted from the squad for Sunday’s FA Cup win at Newport having reportedly gone drinking in Belfast last week.

But it was an excellent comeback from Rashford, with United – who climb to seventh in the Premier League – inflicting Wolves’ first home defeat since September to end their seven-game unbeaten run.

Rashford was reportedly doing tequila shots during his Belfast bender and those in charge of the music on Thursday clearly saw the funny side, playing the Terrorvision hit Tequila before kick-off.

But the England forward enjoys Molineux and last season the 26-year-old was benched for being late for a team meeting before coming on to score the winner.

This time he took just four-and-a-half minutes to start his new redemption arc.

When Bruno Fernandes dummied Alejandro Garnacho’s low delivery Wolves were in trouble, and it got worse when Hojlund held the ball up and teed up Rashford on the edge of the box.

The striker then curled a fine effort beyond Jose Sa for his third goal in his last four games.

United, with two wins in their previous eight league matches, belied their poor form with an energetic start and Casemiro shot wide.

Wolves, though, managed to find some momentum – with Matheus Cunha threatening – only for the visitors to snuff out any recovery with a second goal after 23 minutes.

Again, Rashford was involved when he collected Garnacho’s pass and slipped in the overlapping Luke Shaw to deliver a low cross for Hojlund to bundle in ahead of Craig Dawson.

It sparked the United fans into chanting ‘Rashford’s on the p***’ as they cheekily saluted the striker.

Casemiro nodded Fernandes’ free-kick wide and Hojlund almost embarrassed Sa when he charged down his clearance, only for the ball to rebound wide.

The openings kept coming with Raphael Varane firing over and Hojlund’s celebrations were cut short a minute before half-time when he had a goal disallowed by an offside flag.

In stoppage time Casemiro also had a header ruled out and the one-way traffic continued after the break when Dawson blocked Fernandes’ effort.

It had been Wolves’ worst display of the season but they almost pulled a goal back after 49 minutes, only for Lisandro Martinez to clear Kilman’s header off the line.

Yet United remained on top and Wolves survived when Toti lost possession to Garnacho but Sa spared his blushes by saving Holjund’s effort.

There looked no way back for the hosts when Andre Onana saved Dawson’s deflected strike with his face but they grabbed a lifeline after 71 minutes when Casemiro clipped Neto in the box.

Sarabia buried the penalty – after a long VAR check – but United hit back just four minutes later when McTominay, with his first touch, nodded in Fernandes’ corner.

The hosts refused to go quietly, though, and Kilman hooked in from close range to make it 3-2 with five minutes left after Dawson’s shot was blocked.

There was belief Wolves could level and they did in the fifth minute of stoppage time when Neto fired in on the break.

But a chaotic ending was capped by Mainoo’s stunner when he rode two challenges and curled into the bottom corner in the seventh minute of added time.

Roberto De Zerbi admitted depleted Brighton are dropping too many Premier League points following a frustrating goalless stalemate with Wolves.

Albion dominated possession at the Amex Stadium as they stretched their unbeaten home run to a club-record nine top-flight fixtures to climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference.

But the Seagulls, who lacked a cutting edge on Monday evening, have drawn five of those fixtures and a league-high eight matches overall.

Brighton boss De Zerbi feels a lengthy injury list and European commitments are impacting his side’s league results.

“We have to understand the situation of injuries, we have to understand how much energy we spent in the Europa League, in FA Cup, we have to analyse if we will be lucky or unlucky,” said the Italian, whose side drew 0-0 with West Ham in their previous game.

“In the last two games in the Premier League we have been unlucky because two points after two games with good quality to win the game, we are losing too many points.

“We have been unlucky because five draws (at home), for example Sheffield United, Burnley, Fulham and Wolverhampton, we deserved to win all of the games.

“We didn’t play the best game in my time (tonight) but we created a condition to win the game.

“Yes, we made some mistakes in the crucial part of the pitch and for it we didn’t win.”

Brighton controlled the play against Wolves but rarely threatened.

Facundo Buonanotte saw an early diving header cleared off the line by Tommy Doyle, while Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal.

De Zerbi remains without the creative talents of Kaoru Mitoma, Simon Adingra, Ansu Fati, Solly March and Julio Enciso but dismissed talk of recruiting reinforcements this month.

“No, transfer market is not my business,” he said.

“I have to be focused on my work and my work is to give organisation, to give a style, to try the condition to play well and make points.

“We are seventh place on the table and if you consider how many problems we had in the first part of the season we have to be proud because we are playing better than the situation we are enduring.”

Wolves were thrashed 6-0 in this fixture last season but could have snatched victory.

Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina each went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

In the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, Neto played as a central striker on the south coast on his first start since October.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was impressed with the impact of the Portugal forward but hopes to bolster his striking options during the transfer window.

“We always had that threat,” said O’Neil. “Pedro was good, probably played a little bit longer than we would have liked ideally.

“I just felt there was still a goal in him so tried to push him a little bit more than was ideal but pleased that he got through it.

“Hopefully over the next few days we can do something in the window that can help us in that area.

“Until then we work hard to try and maximise what we have in the room and I felt we did that well today.

“The main thing was we looked like a team, we stuck together and when it got tough in certain situations we looked like we could cope and always had that threat.”

Brighton failed to score at home for the first time in 23 matches as they were held to a frustrating goalless draw by Wolves at the Amex Stadium.

Albion dominated possession in a tetchy Premier League contest but lacked a cutting edge in attack.

Wanderers captain Maximilian Kilman hit the frame of his own goal early in the second half, while Pedro Neto, Matheus Cunha and Mario Lemina went close for the counter-attacking visitors.

A largely forgettable encounter was at least memorable for Seagulls midfielder James Milner, whose 633rd Premier League appearance lifted him clear of Ryan Giggs on the competition’s all-time list, behind only record holder Gareth Barry.

Brighton climb to seventh, above Manchester United on goal difference, courtesy of the stalemate, while Wolves move level on points with 10th-placed Newcastle.

Albion won this fixture 6-0 last season – their biggest Premier League victory and Wolves’ heaviest loss.

Danny Welbeck was one of three players to score twice that day and he threatened to inflict to more misery on Wanderers during a bright beginning for the hosts.

After forcing a corner with a deflected shot off Matt Doherty, the former England forward climbed high to flick on Pervis Estupinan’s 11th-minute delivery, only for Facundo Buonanotte’s back-post diving header to be hacked off the line by Tommy Doyle.

Wolves were just about managing to contain the lively hosts and almost snatched a 22nd-minute lead.

Portugal forward Neto, making his first start since October in the absence of 10-goal top scorer Hwang Hee-chan, was afforded time and space on the edge of the Seagulls’ 18-yard box but his curling effort flew narrowly wide of the left post.

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil was left frustrated on the half-hour mark when Brighton midfielder Billy Gilmour escaped punishment after cynically halting Cunha’s off-the-ball run as Neto broke down the left.

Tempers then threatened to boil over on the touchline during a flashpoint sparked by a clash between Gilmour and Wolves defender Craig Dawson, which led to the visitors’ goalkeeping coach Neil Cutler being booked by referee Craig Pawson.

The fractious ending to a tight opening period persisted with Cunha receiving a yellow card for a challenge on Gilmour and then confronting the officials following the half-time whistle.

Brazil forward Cunha almost channelled his sense of injustice into the opening goal within seconds of the restart but his initial effort was repelled by Seagulls goalkeeper Jason Steele before he poked over the rebound.

Wolves skipper Kilman then diverted the ball on to the base of his own right post as he slid in to intercept Jack Hinshelwood’s cross before Neto was denied by Steele as the end-to-end action continued.

In-form Wolves were seeking to register four successive top-flight wins for the first time since January 1972 and looked the more likely to break the deadlock in the closing stages.

Neto flashed across goal before the onrushing Steele was fortunate to escape being rounded by Cunha and then kept out a powerful drive from Lemina.