Author: Amrit Santlani
Manchester United – Wolves – 1:0
Manchester United kicked off the 2023-24 Premier League season with a narrow 1-0 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Tuesday. The visitors were in the midst of all kinds of turmoil, with no permanent additions to the team that took the field against Manchester United.
Spanish coach Julen Lopetegui left the club just days before the new campaign, and Gary O’Neil was called in to take charge, and the visitors will consider themselves unlucky not to have taken at least a point from their trip to Manchester, despite having a number of chances. André Onana made many important saves, and the former Ajax goalkeeper was lucky not to concede a penalty after a clumsy challenge on Sasa Kalajdzic.
Brazilian winger Antony set up Marcus Rashford with a quick run into Wolves’ half, but the Englishman’s shot went straight to José Sá, who saved it calmly. Matheus Cunha almost gave the home fans a scare when the Brazilian striker dribbled past two United defenders, including Lisandro Martinez and his countryman Casemiro, before slipping a pass to Pable Sarabia, whose shot deflected off Varane and went close to the goal.
Shortly after the half-hour mark, Cunha had another chance to open the scoring, but the Brazilian shot wide, prompting many “oh”s and “ah”s from the home fans. The former Atlético Madrid player was proving to be a problem for the United players.
Then it was Erik ten Hag’s men who gave the visiting fans a scare. Luke Shaw tried to set up Alejandro Garnacho, who ended up bumping into a Wolves defender before reaching the ball, and Antony’s shot on goal was blocked before the play was interrupted by Garnacho’s foul.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka made a rare foray forward and the Englishman passed to Rashford, whose attempted header collided directly with Nelson Semedo’s hands, but as the Portuguese full-back’s hands were not in an abnormal position, the VAR did not consider a penalty.
Antony and Rashford combined well again after Matheus Nunes narrowly missed the ball in his own half. The Brazilian fed the England international, whose shot on goal was well blocked by Max Kilman before it could trouble the Wolves goalkeeper.
After the restart, Cunha came close again when he hit the post after a brilliant individual move by Nunes. Antony also came close after receiving a deep pass and shooting for José Sá, but Craig Dawson intervened before the ball could enter the goal.
Pedro Neto then had a shot on goal saved by Onana, after a run by Cunha into the United box, but Wolves were punished for their negligence shortly afterwards.
Wan-Bissaka ran into the Wolves box and crossed for Varane, who sent the ball into the net, sending the home fans into raptures in the 76th minute. There was drama at the end of the match when Onana collided with Kalajdzic while trying to receive a cross from the side of the pitch. The goalkeeper was nowhere near the ball, but the VAR spared United, who held on for the three points.
Brighton – Luton Town – 4:1
Brazilian midfielder Casemiro played the full ninety minutes, despite a rare low-key performance. Antony was lively, but was sent off in the 77th minute; Cunha also impressed and played for 77 minutes; João Gomes also impressed before being sent off in the 88th minute. Note that former Chelsea player Mount made his debut for Manchester, and Fabio Silva, who was bought by PSV, had a good game for the visitors.
Brazilian striker João Pedro scored on his Brighton debut as the Seagulls beat Luton Town 4-1. Brighton’s record signing, Pedro took a second-half penalty after a foul on Luton captain Tom Lockyer to double his side’s lead.