Wolverhampton Wanderers suffered a controversial 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in their Premier League opener, with a late penalty appeal being turned down. Despite the result, new manager Gary O’Neil remained positive and highlighted the many encouraging aspects of his team’s performance in a game they largely dominated.
The only goal of the match was scored by Raphael Varane. However, Wolves strongly believed that they should have been awarded a penalty in added time. O’Neil stressed that this incident exposed a grey area in the use of the Video Assistant Referee.
During the match, Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic was on the receiving end of a collision with United goalkeeper Andre Onana. The goalkeeper arrived late while attempting to punch clear a cross but ended up colliding with Kalajdzic without making any contact with the ball, leaving the striker grounded.
Referee Simon Hooper did not perceive any wrongdoing, and given the VAR’s instruction to intervene only in clear and obvious errors, there was no review of the incident.
Expressing his frustration, O’Neil told Sky Sports, “The goalkeeper has come and just about taken our striker’s head off. It’s a foul, it has to be. But I’m not overly surprised we did not get it, to be honest. I understand the rules, but I don’t fully accept it.”
Unsurprisingly, Manchester United manager Eric ten Hag had a differing opinion on the incident. However, he acknowledged that his team had faced a daunting challenge in their Premier League opener.
“It is difficult. Andre was really brave to come out, and the ball was touched before he dived in, so I don’t think he had any influence on the opponent’s touch. You can debate it, but I think no penalty,” ten Hag stated.
He further added, “The opposition were dynamic. We had to match that. We had to fight for our points. They’re a tough team. We hope we’ll be better on the ball in the next game.”
Despite the result, Wolverhampton Wanderers showcased their attacking prowess with an impressive 23 shots, the second-highest number against United at Old Trafford in the past 20 years. O’Neil expressed his satisfaction with his team’s confidence to attack and dominate the game, considering they had only four days of training prior to the match.
“In the end, we can’t solely focus on that (penalty) decision. To visit Old Trafford, have the most shots of any side since 2005, and dominate after just four days of work in training is exceptional. The lads deserved more tonight,” O’Neil emphasized.