Mason Greenwood’s late strike secured all three points for Manchester United against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence could be felt in the stadium with Man Utd fans singing his name in their first game since the announcement of the Portugal forward.
Ronaldo was not at Molineux but United’s travelling fans sang his name, with United expected to confirm the arrival of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from Juventus in the coming days for £12.8m.
On the pitch, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side were second-best to a lively Wolves for long periods before Mason Greenwood scored a contentious late winner.
Wolves felt Ruben Neves was fouled in the build-up but the goal was allowed to stand.
Wolves could have been 3-0 up inside 15 minutes, with Raul Jimenez forcing David de Gea into an early save, Aaron Wan-Bissaka making a goal-saving block to deny Trincao and Joao Moutinho volleying over after a mistake by Jadon Sancho.
United were second best for long periods and it required a spectacular double save by De Gea from Romain Saiss to prevent Wolves from taking the lead before Greenwood’s finish.
There was a carnival atmosphere at Molineux. Wolves fans were excited at the arrival of new striker Hwang Hee-chan – who was presented on the pitch after arriving from RB Leipzig – while United’s travelling supporters sang about Ronaldo from start to finish.
Chants of ‘Viva Ronaldo’ could be heard outside the ground two hours before kick-off.
Inside Molineux, United fans wore CR7 T-shirts, held up ‘welcome back Ronaldo’ signs and wore replica shirts with his name on the back.
Supporters also displayed a cardboard cutout of Ronaldo, while Ole Gunnar Solskjaer spoke excitedly before the match about the imminent return of the 36-year-old.
“I’m excited to keep building this squad. He will bring something completely different,” said the United boss.
“Hopefully Cristiano can come in and show what he has done in his career.
“I am sure he likes all the talk about being old. Make it personal and he will show what he can do.”
