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Man Utd clinch fourth spot after taming Wolves

Manchester United moved into the top four for the first time this season after edging Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-0 on Saturday afternoon.

Man United manager Erik ten Hag dropped forward Marcus Rashford for disciplinary reasons and his place was taken by Alejandro Garnacho, while Luke Shaw continued to partner Raphael Varane in the heart of defence.

The Red Devils were quick off the blocks early on as Garnacho latched onto a mistake at the back to have a clear sight of goal but his shot was kept out by the out-stretched arm of goalkeeper Jose Sa.

Wolves got into the game midway through the first stanza, looking lively, with Daniel Podence linking up play but they lacked the killer instinct in the last third.

United could also not get Anthony Martial and Antony into the game, as both sides were disjointed in their play, in the latter phase of the first stanza and went to the half-time break deadlocked.

The Red Devils showed urgency early in the second stanza after Rashford was eventually brought on in place of Garnacho and were threatening to draw first blood but were kept at bay by the brilliance of Sa.

Julen Lopetegui's charges were also desperate to get on the scoresheet as Ruben Neves came close to breaking the deadlock shortly before the hour-mark with a dipping strike from a free-kick out of the box that was plucked out of the top corner by shot-stopper David de Gea.

United maintained the intensity of their attacks and Rashford eventually sent them ahead in the last 14 minutes with a low powerful strike past Sa after a return pass by Bruno Fernandes.

Ten Hag looked to consolidate the result by packing the midfield in the last ten minutes as Donny van de Beek replaced Martial.

However, Rashford thought he had killed off the game for United with five minutes to go after finding the back of the net with a strike that rebounded off Sa and into the back of the net but the goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for a handball before he pulled the trigger.

Wolves threatened to at least salvage a point in the dying minutes but De Gea kept out a close-range header from Raul Jimenez in stoppages to earn United their second win since the restart.

The Red Devils also leaped above Tottenham Hotspur in fourth place by two points while Lopetegui's men remained in the relegation zone.

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