Man Utd 'lucky' to avoid late penalty against Wolves but Erik ten Hag hails Andre Onana for 'very good' debut

Man Utd boss Erik ten Hag says his side were "lucky" not to concede a penalty in their 1-0 win over Wolves, although he felt it was the right call.

Raphael Varane goal secures Man Utd win
Wolves wanted a penalty for Onana challenge
Ten Hag says right call was made

WHAT HAPPENED? United began their 2023-24 campaign with a tight 1-0 win over Wolves at Old Trafford on Monday night thanks to Raphael Varane's second-half header. However, it could have been a different story if referee Simon Hooper had awarded the visitors a penalty when keeper Andre Onana crashed into striker Sasa Kalajdzic and failed to make contact with the ball in stoppage time. The PGMOL later apologised for this mistake but Ten Hag felt the right decision had been made.

WHAT THEY SAID: When asked about the performances of Onana and Mason Mount, both of whom were making their club debuts, Ten Hag said: "[Onana] had very good saves, was very calm, very good debut. After the opponent touched the ball he dived in so it was the judgement of the officials and lucky for us no penalty. I think you can debate it but I think no penalty. Good performance [from Mount]. He did what we expected him to do. He had a very good level in the game."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Wolves boss Gary O'Neil said Jon Moss, referees' manager at theProfessional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), felt this was a "blatant" penalty and apologised for the decision. Moreover, PGMOL chief Howard Webb reportedly contacted Wolves officials after the United defeat to apologise for the error - not long after speaking about the goal of reducing high-profile mistakes and driving up standards.

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