Man Utd 2 Wolves 0: Garnacho scores just minutes into incredible return to fire hosts towards Champions League football
ANTHONY MARTIAL rediscovered the golden touch in front of his old gaffer to shoot his current one a step closer to the Champions League.
Martial had managed just three goals since the turn of the year and drawn a blank in his previous eight games.
And to be fair he could hardly miss when Anthony’s square ball left him with an open net from 12 yards just after half an hour here.
Yet after waiting so long to celebrate a goal of his own, it was as welcome as a 30-yard scorcher for the Frenchman, who knows he is playing for his Old Trafford future.
Erik ten Hag may believe it is easier now to attract top names to United than when he first arrived a year ago, but try doing it without the offer of dining at Europe’s top table.
And if they hadn’t seen off a tenacious Wolves, the door to fourth place would have much have swung open for bitter rivals Liverpool, now hot on their heels.
It is still far from slammed on their back-to-form Scousers, but at least United have a little breathing space again and can decide their own destiny.
But there remains so much for Ten Hag to put right at this slumbering giant that, for all the improvements he has made, is only just rising to its knees.
A goalscorer has long been a priority in the summer, regardless of whether Martial is still here or not, and at least one new face in midfield is only slightly less crucial.
At least there are still some things you can rely on at Old Trafford…and few of them quite so dependable as Bruno Fernandes. It is just as well.
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Fittingly – and not surprisingly – he had a key role in Martial’s big moment against Wolves, stretching out a foot to retain possession when Jadon Sancho’s ball sold him short.
From there he fed Anthony and when the Brazilian picked out Martial, it was basically harder to miss than score. Fortunately for United, he proved the point
Although you could have said the same about an unmarked, point blank header from Anthony minutes earlier and he managed to fire that over the top.
And talking of over the top, Julen Lopetegui’s in-your-face appeal to fourth official Andre Marriner was exactly that on 70 minutes when he claimed David De Gea had felled Hee Chan Hwang.
When Daniel Podence clipped one over the top, De Gea raced from his goal but was never going to reach the ball.
Crucially he never touched Hwang either, for all the South Korean went to ground…leaving Lopetegui leaping around appealing for a foul and a red card.
It wasn’t the last time the Wolves boss was left spitting mad, either, as United finally put an end to any doubts four minutes into stoppage time.
Fernandes was the creator with a cutting ball through the middle – and Alejandro Garnacho marked his return to action after eight weeks out thanks to a damaged ankle, with the coolest of finishes.