Mainoo's goal seals Manchester United's victory against Wolves in a seven-goal thriller | first division

For Erik ten Hag, nothing is ever simple. He manchester united The manager has been at pains to say he has the respect of his team after Marcus Rashford's latest misdemeanor and, to be fair, no one can argue that his players are not with him after Kobbie Mainoo snatched victory in the seventh nine minutes added.

Even when it looked like United had squandered it – Pedro Neto scored the equalizer in the fifth minute of stoppage time – the visitors did not give up. Rashford scored five minutes into his return to action following his final tick and looked set to steal the headlines, but the drama was only just beginning.

It was just a ridiculous ending to a football game. Wolves had been upping the ante, prompting Ten Hag to bring on Harry Maguire and Jonny Evans in an attempt to wrap up the win, having built a two-goal lead, but then Neto fired in and sent Wolves into a frenzy.

Ten Hag must have thought he had it figured out when Rashford and Rasmus Højlund put United 2-0 up inside 22 minutes, but they let their firm control slip from there. Substitute Scott McTominay headed in to offer some consolation after Pablo Sarabia responded for Wolves from the penalty spot, but then Max Kilman fired home five minutes from time to make it 3-2.

Ten Hag acknowledged that this was probably his strongest starting lineup of the season and a team packed with World Cup and Champions League winners and a couple of the game's brightest talents finally seemed to fit together the way one might. wait.

Ten Hag insisted it was a closed case when it came to Rashford and his stroll through Belfast's nightlife spots this time last week but in reality, all eyes were on how the 26-year-old would fare upon his return to the team.

The response was forceful, Rashford tormenting Nélson Semedo, Wolves' right back. The Wolves, Gary O'Neil said, anticipated Rashford would start and he did, which perhaps explains the pre-match playlist that included songs by The Champs and Terrorvision named after Tequila.

Within 25 minutes, with United leading 2-0, the visiting supporters spread out at the bottom of the Steve Bull Stand saw the funny side of things, glorifying Rashford's latest misdemeanor. “Rashford is angry,” they cheered in unison.

To be fair, Rashford was left out of the team that traveled to Newport for his unconvincing FA Cup victory, was making everything look extremely easy. Then again, Rashford's natural ability had never been in doubt.

It seemed a case of muscle memory when Rashford, for the first time, swept Højlund's cute pass into the top corner. Rashford's celebrations were relatively quiet, with the striker walking towards the United supporters' bench before being mobbed by his team-mates. Argentine centre-back Lisandro Martínez, in his first league start since September, grabbed Rashford by the cheeks, a kind of congratulation. Ten Hag, wearing a gray cap, clenched both fists as Rashford's unerring right-footed shot flew past José Sá in the Wolves goal. Rashford now has two assists and three goals in his last five league games.

Rashford was involved in United's magnificent second goal. A strong move began with Diogo Dalot on the right and culminated with Kilman, the Wolves captain, inadvertently deflecting Luke Shaw's low cross between Sá's legs, via Højlund.

Dalot passed the ball to Alejandro Garnacho, who changed play. Rashford then fed Shaw on the overlap and, with Højlund lurking in the six-yard box, Kilman and Craig Dawson failed to extinguish the danger. For United, all in white, it was a pure goal, a clever and destructive team move, which would have won the approval of Sir Alex Ferguson, among those present in the directors' box.

United smelled blood and looked for the third before the break. Casemiro headed Bruno Fernandes' diabolical free-kick wide and Højlund almost humiliated Sá, harassing the goalkeeper as he went to clear Matt Doherty's careless and underdone pass.

Wolves had beaten Manchester City, Tottenham and Chelsea here earlier in the season, but they were a pale imitation of the team that overwhelmed those teams. Fernandes missed a shot wide and Højlund and Casemiro saw their goals correctly disallowed for offside before the break. André Onana, returning from the African Cup of Nations with Cameroon, was a spectator in the United goal.

Wolves barely laid a glove on United, whose weaknesses were exposed by a mediocre League Two side last weekend, until Kilman connected on Pedro Neto's free-kick four minutes into the second half, past André Onana with a good header. But Martinez, who conceded the free kick, imagined his own redemption story and cleared the line. Then Dawson approached tantalizingly, his shot deflecting off of him skipping Onana's head and being cleared. O'Neil looked in disbelief. Wolves were at least now asking United questions. The visitors were not so comfortable and Garnacho celebrated a cut from Mario Lemina from mid-distance as if it were a third goal.

However, nothing is easy for Ten Hag, and once again he missed a clean sheet. When Neto danced into the area and, after avoiding Casemiro, it was considered that the Brazilian had clipped his wings.

Referee Jarred Gillett pointed to the penalty spot and, after a three-minute VAR check, his decision stood. Sarabia, the architect of Wolves' extra-time comeback win over Spurs in November, scored the subsequent penalty down the middle. Wolves' hopes of anything resembling a replay were dashed when McTominay headed in a Fernandes corner, but Kilman struck with five minutes left to secure the finish in the stands.