A late goal from Mason Greenwood helped Manchester United beat Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League matchday 3, while Tottenham beat Watford by the same scoreline thanks to another Son Heung-min strike.
Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane made their first starts for Manchester United when Ole-Gunnar Solskjaer’s side travelled to the Molineux. Former Borussia Dortmund wingman’s inclusion meant Anthony Martial missed out on a place in the starting eleven. Similarly, Victor Lindelof sat on the bench, his place taken by ex-Real Madrid centre-back in the team.
The Visitors started on the back foot and played much of the game as the second-best side of the two. Wolves were unlucky not to take the lead within the first ten minutes, as David De Gea denied Raul Jimenez before Aaron Wan-Bissaka cleared Francisco Trincao’s effort off the line.
A similar story unfolded after the half-time, with Wolves on top and the Red Devils on retreat. Francisco Trincao spurned another glorious opportunity when he mis-hit his shot despite being unmarked inside the box. De Gea then pulled off two superhuman saves to deny Romain Saiss – his second, an exceptional reflex stop on the line.
While Wolves were inefficient with their chances, Manchester United were ruthless. The Red Devils took the lead – albeit under a cloud of controversy – in the 80th minute through Mason Greenwood, who fired in a shot past the goalkeeper from a tight angle. They held onto their narrow lead and came away with all three points.
In an earlier encounter, Tottenham took on the recently promoted Watford with Harry Kane back in the starting eleven. The Englishman spearheaded the attack with Steven Bergwijn and Son Heung-min in support, and it was the latter who gave Spurs the lead in the 42nd minute, continuing his good form at the start of the season.
The South Korean attacker curled in a free-kick from the channel, which evaded the crowd inside the box, and nestled into the corner of the net.
Spurs saw out the game with just the one-goal advantage, and consequently, moved top of the league.
2021/22 Premier League table
POS | CLUB | P | GD | PTS |
1 | Tottenham Hotspur | 3 | +3 | 9 |
2 | West Ham United | 3 | +5 | 7 |
3 | Manchester United | 3 | +5 | 7 |
4 | Chelsea | 3 | +5 | 7 |
5 | Liverpool | 3 | +5 | 7 |
6 | Everton | 3 | +4 | 7 |