Manchester United picked up a rather stunning and bizarre 4-3 win against Wolves at Molineux.
The Red Devils’ last Premier League game was a 2-2 draw against Tottenham Hotspur but Erik ten Hag’s side are now back to winning ways in the league in what has been a very inconsistent season.
Here are six things we learned from United’s 4-3 win against Wolves.
Rashford back to his best
All of the talk before the game in the Midlands was about the off-field antics of Marcus Rashford who missed the victory over Newport County as a result of this.
He was brought back into the team by Ten Hag which turned out to be a very wise decision as the Englishman netted early on to silence the doubters.
It was an outstanding finish into the top corner and the Englishman looked very dangerous and was playing football with a smile on his face, like last season, you wonder if a well-taken goal at Molineux may well be the start of something special from Rashford.
Hojlund scores again
After going goalless in the Premier League for the first 14 games of his stint in the division, the Danish striker has now netted three times in three games in the league.
Rasmus Hojlund’s goal was a very scruffy one but the celebrations of the 20-year-old showed how important that finish was and he now looks to be scoring the goals, and performing for the Red Devils.
His link-up play with Rashford has been impressive and, as fans predicted, if the other attackers can create chances for him, he will score in the red of United.
Shaw’s return vital
It cannot be understated just how important the former Southampton left-back is to the United setup with the options the Red Devils had previously, whether it was Sergio Reguilon or Tyrell Malacia, just do not offer what the 27-year-old does.
As soon as Rashford picked the ball up in that left-half space, you knew that Luke Shaw would be on the overlap ready to provide the cross for the Danish striker who finished.
Shaw brings composure, confidence and quality to the team on that left side and his absence from the majority of this campaign has hurt the Red Devils.
United fail to put game out of sight
When Hojlund missed a simple opportunity in front of goal, there was an air of the Galatasaray draw in the Champions League about the game and so it proved.
A debatable penalty was awarded for the Midlands side and was converted by Pablo Sarabia. The goal got the hosts back into it and it proved to be the start of something spectacular.
The defending for the second and third goals for the hosts was atrocious but thankfully the Red Devils got the victory in the end.
Mainoo’s moment of brilliance
When Pedro Neto’s shot hit the back of Onana’s net, United players looked shell-shocked. After all of the chances they had, the Red Devils would have had to settle for a point.
However, teenage midfielder Kobbie Mainoo, who has been excellent this campaign, had different ideas. Picking up the ball on the left, he sidestepped two challenges and curled the ball into the bottom corner.
It was sheer pandemonium in the away end and the teenager showed maturity and skill that has demonstrated why the 18-year-old is one of the most exciting players in the division.
Ten Hag got decisions right
Whatever the future holds for Ten Hag is irrelevant, the Dutchman made some rather big calls and was proven right on pretty much every single occasion.
Starting Rashford after the week he has had off the field was a big call and, as mentioned, the Englishman justified it. Bringing on Scott McTominay, which may well have been unpopular amongst the fans, proved to, again, be correct with the Scotsman netting the third.
This season has not been good enough for the Red Devils but this will go down as one of the club’s best performances of the campaign and rightly so.
Despite the home side clawing an equalising goal back, United got the victory with a stunning goal from Mainoo and that could be the kickstarter for the rest of the season.