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Olga Carmona’s stunning late winner fired Spain into the World Cup final with a 2-1 win against Sweden. In a cagey contest with few chances for either side, the game suddenly sprung into life in the final stages with three goals in the final 10 minutes of normal time. Barcelona winger Salma Paralluelo, 19, gave Spain the lead in the 81st minute, but her goal was soon cancelled out by Rebecka Blomqvist. But Carmona responded in emphatic fashion just one minute later, sealing a final clash against either Australia or England on Sunday. Spain kept possession well in the opening stages and had a chance when a looping cross found Alba Redondo at the back post, but her header was cleared by Sweden. They struck again minutes later with some good build-up around the box allowing Carmona to shoot from the edge of the area, but it just whistled past the bottom corner. Sweden then had a half-chance at the other end when Johanna Rytting Kaneryd headed wide before Aitana Bonmati looped a cross in for Jennifer Hermoso but goalkeeper Zecira Musovic comfortably collected. Another attack came from a Spanish free-kick which went as far as Alexia Putellas, who whipped the ball into the box and Magdalena Eriksson did well to quickly head the ball away. Sweden had a great opportunity to take the lead just before half-time when Nathalie Bjorn picked out Fridolina Rolfo at the back post, but her half-volley was pushed away by Cata Coll. A slow start to the second half saw Stina Blackstenius try her luck from the right-hand side of the box, but her attempt was easily saved by Coll, who then made an excellent dive to palm Rytting Kaneryd’s cross away. Spain had some tidy build-up play around the box and had a great opportunity when Hermoso found Redondo in the box, but she was unable to cleanly strike it. The match looked destined for extra time with neither side having any real clear-cut chances, but it suddenly burst into life in the final 10 minutes with three goals in eight minutes. After dominating possession, Spain finally found the breakthrough in the 81st minute when Hermoso’s cross was cleared into the path of Paralluelo and the substitute tucked the ball into the bottom corner. Their lead was short-lived though as Sweden hit back in the 88th minute when Lina Hurtig headed down a cross for Blomqvist to smash the ball first time across the goalkeeper and into the top corner. Spain snatched the winner just one minute later when a short corner was played out to Carmona on the edge of the area and she smashed the ball from the outside of the box above Musovic’s head, with the goalkeeper unable to get a strong enough hand to keep it out. Read More England and Australia’s old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment FA ‘disappointed’ after Matildas secure tickets in allocated England section England vs Australia: Kick-off time and how to watch on TV Old rivalry has new stage as World Cup arrives at its biggest moment Women’s World Cup LIVE: England vs Australia build-up as Spain reach final

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Georgia Stanway has revealed she is leaning on the support of former Manchester United midfielder Luke Chadwick to navigate the highs and lows of England’s World Cup campaign. The Lionesses, who are bidding to reach the final of the competition for the first time, will take on tournament co-hosts Australia on Wednesday in Sydney for the right to face Spain – 2-1 victors over Sweden in Tuesday’s semi-final – in Sunday’s showpiece. Bayern Munich midfielder Stanway was introduced to “mentor” Chadwick through her agency while she was still playing for Manchester City, and speaks to him at least once a week – even from 10,000-plus miles away in New South Wales. Stanway said: “I’m not afraid to say it, I went through a time at City where it was a little bit up and down in terms of my mentality, my position, everything was changing. “(Chadwick) was my go-to in terms of getting clarity on my position, clarity on what I wanted to achieve in that season. “It’s just little things. You rely upon a good luck message before the game and he never fails. Always after the game he’s always the first to say something positive and then says, ‘Let me know when you want to talk’. It’s always on my terms, which is so understanding. “He’s honestly one of the nicest people you’ll ever meet and he cares for absolutely everybody. And I think the most important thing is that he removes himself from any equation, and he’s just so focused on making sure that he improves the individual and wants them to be the utmost successful individual as a player and as a person. “I think it’s just (about) finding yourself. I’ve found what works for me, so I’m not going to change that.” Chadwick, now 42, made his senior United debut just months after Red Devils won the treble in 1999, but the joy of seeing his lifelong dream fulfilled was soon overshadowed when the teenager found himself routinely ridiculed for his appearance on the popular BBC panel show They Think It’s All Over. His mental health suffered severely. Chadwick became “obsessed” with what people might be thinking about him every time he left the house, later admitting in an interview on the club website that he “really did suffer in silence”. Chadwick, who also played for England at youth level, was privately haunted by the experience for two decades before opening up in 2020, a revelation that resulted in an apology from presenter Nick Hancock. He has since used his experience of facing adversity as fuel to help players like Stanway reach their full potential, a holistic approach that includes everything from pre-game goal-setting on the eve of matches to ensuring her Munich flat was fitted out with everything she needed. Though still just 24, Stanway has evolved into one of the leaders on Sarina Wiegman’s 23-woman squad, one of seven England players in this tournament who also featured four years ago in France, when the Lionesses were knocked out 2-1 by eventual champions the United States in their semi-final. Her maturing process has resulted in a new appreciation for facts over sometimes-misleading feelings when it comes to evaluating her own performances. Stanway said: “I am big on numbers. I could come away from the game feeling on top of the world and then my mentor could bring me back down to Earth, and say, ‘Oh, no, your passing was shocking today’. “So it’s vice-versa and it’s just kind of (about) staying level and staying consistent and being consistent in the way that I am as a person and the way that I am on the field.” England have been embraced by locals since they arrived in Australia nearly six weeks ago, but Stanway appreciates the semi-final match-up might have cooled down the warm welcome. She added: “Everyone we speak to, they always say, ‘Good luck until you play Australia’, so we’re kind of feeling that a little bit now.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live We can do beautiful things – Micky van de Ven excited by Tottenham prospects Millie Bright confident England can cope with hostile atmosphere in Sydney Ben Stokes tipped to make U-turn and feature for England at World Cup

Micky van de Ven has predicted Tottenham can achieve “beautiful things” under attack-minded Ange Postecoglou. The Dutch defender was thrown into the deep end in Sunday’s Premier League opener at Brentford after only three training sessions with his new team-mates, but impressed in the 2-2 draw. It had been a whirlwind week for Spurs with growing speculation over record goal-scorer Harry Kane eventually resulting in his departure for Bayern Munich on Saturday. A degree of optimism remains rife amongst supporters following a busy summer of transfer activity and with a new bold, front-foot approach set to be adopted by Postecoglou. “It’s an amazing club,” Van de Ven reflected after his debut. “I had a good meeting with the trainer and it was a really good meeting. “He’s a really good trainer. I love the club, I love the players and I think there is so much potential under this trainer so we will see where this season heads. “He has a good view on football, that’s what I think. Attacking football is what I love, playing with a lot of space in the back doesn’t matter for me. “Offensive football is what I like and I think if we play a lot of offensive football and we train, we train, we train then I think we can do some beautiful things.” Spurs had chased Netherlands Under-21 captain Van de Ven all summer and eventually secured his services on August 8 for an initial £34.5million fee, which could rise to £43.1million in add-ons. Despite featuring for Wolfsburg during pre-season, the 22-year-old had not completed 90 minutes all summer, but Postecoglou’s decision to include him in the starting XI was vindicated. Van de Ven admitted: “Everything is harder, it’s going quicker and it’s going up and down, up and down. There is no moment in the game where you feel you can rest a bit, you always have to be sharp and 100 per cent focused. “It is my first game with the team, so of course at the beginning we have to watch a bit how everything is going and afterwards you feel more comfortable. The guys are talking positive to you so that is also helping. “I trained three days with the team but they gave me some confidence and the trainer was talking to me and also gave me some confidence. I didn’t stress at all that I can’t do it. “All the trainers were positive, all the players were positive saying ‘do your job, do what you can do and we will help you’ and I think it went well.” Comparisons to Jan Vertonghen, another left-footed centre-back who started out in Eredivisie, occurred before Van de Ven had even signed his contract at Tottenham. He has a good view on football, that's what I think. Attacking football is what I love, playing with a lot of space in the back doesn't matter for me. Micky van de Ven on Ange Postecoglou The ex-Volendam defender revealed he used to study Vertonghen before the Belgian moved to Spurs, where he went on to make 315 appearances and become a hugely popular figure with the club’s fanbase. “I was always in the stadium when Jan Vertonghen was playing for Ajax so I always saw him play and always said he was a good left-footed, centre-back. I learned some from him as I watched videos of him,” Van de Ven added. “I watched a lot of times Spurs because a lot of players from Ajax also went to Spurs and also players from Holland. “Always when you see a player go to Spurs it is an amazing step if you went from Ajax, AZ, PSV to Spurs. “Of course with the history they didn’t win a prize for a long time but you never know what is going to happen.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Millie Bright confident England can cope with hostile atmosphere in Sydney Ben Stokes tipped to make U-turn and feature for England at World Cup Football rumours: West Ham growing frustrated with Harry Maguire delays

Spain face Sweden in the first Women’s World Cup semi-final as both nations go in search of their first tournament crown. Sweden produced their best performance of the World Cup to defeat Japan 2-1 in the quarter-finals, knocking out the team of the tournament with a display of high-tempo pressing while continuing to take their chances at set-pieces. Centre-back Amanda Ilestedt is Sweden’s top-scorer with four goals so far, with the defender in the race for the World Cup golden boot. Spain required Salma Paralluelo’s extra-time goal to defeat Netherlands and have navigated a player mutiny under head coach Jorge Vilda to reach their first ever World Cup semi-final. Despite uncertainty off the field, Spain have shone on it, led by Barcelona stars Aitana Bonmati and the returning Alexia Putellas. The winner will play either England or Australia in Sunday’s World Cup final. Follow live updates from Spain vs Sweden as the semi-finals get underway, and get all the latest Women’s World Cup odds here Read More Women’s World Cup TV schedule: How to watch every match today The Lionesses will need to beat an entire nation in the grip of World Cup fever Women’s World Cup golden boot: Who’s leading the top-scorer standings?

What the papers say West Ham may yet pull the plug on a deal for Harry Maguire, according to The Telegraph. The Manchester United defender has been rumoured to be on the way to London Stadium for some time, but the paper says the Hammers’ management are growing increasingly fed up with the amount of time it is taking to finalise the deal and may decide to walk away if it continues to drag on. A host of Premier League and Serie A clubs are said to be lining up to sign Lille midfielder Carlos Baleba. The Daily Mail reports Liverpool, Newcastle, AC Milan and Juventus are all interested in the 19-year-old, with Brighton believed to be leading the charge for his signature. The Newcastle Chronicle says the Magpies have reached out to Arsenal over full-back Kieran Tierney. Any deal could be hard to come by for the north-east club however, with the Gunners reportedly likely to refuse to budge on their £30million price tag for the 26-year-old. And the Daily Mirror reports Arsenal defender Gabriel is the latest player to be targeted by the Saudi Pro League. Social media round-up Players to watch Hugo Ekitike: RMC Sport says Everton have opened talks with Paris St Germain over a loan deal for the 21-year-old forward. Nicolo Zaniolo: Aston Villa are on the verge of sealing a loan deal for the Galatasaray midfielder, according to Sport Italia. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live

Manchester United goalkeeper Andre Onana believes referee Simon Hooper and VAR were right not to award Wolves a last-gasp penalty in Monday night’s Premier League clash at Old Trafford. United opened their league account for the season in unconvincing fashion as Raphael Varane’s header 14 minutes from time was enough to earn a 1-0 victory that was barely deserved. Indeed, it looked like Wolves might get the chance to equalise from the penalty spot at the death when debutant Onana appeared to clatter into Sasa Kalajdzic, but the goalkeeper got away with it. Wolves boss Gary O’Neil said Onana tried “to take the centre-forward’s head off” and claimed Premier League referees’ boss Jon Moss apologised to him for the decision after the match. But asked if it was a penalty, Onana said: “No, goalkeepers make decisions, sometimes you are right, sometimes you are not. “I made a decision and I am responsible for everything. For me it was contact between two big guys and nothing happened. But for us, the most important thing was to win and I am happy for the victory. “Of course I was confident (it would not be given).” Onana made his Premier League debut following his summer move from Inter Milan. The Cameroon international, who worked with Erik Ten Hag at Ajax, has big boots to fill following on from David De Gea, and his style differs greatly from the Spaniard as he likes the ball at his feet. But he insists it is a case of him adapting to his new surroundings rather than the United defence changing their game. “Listen, I think I’m playing with some of the best defenders in the world because playing for Manchester United is not something easy,” he said. “I think I’m the one who has to adapt because United is a very big club and I’m proud to be able to perform here and proud to play alongside these defenders and if something has to change, I think we will do it. “At the moment everything is going right and we just have to continue working like this and I think it will be OK by the end of the season.” Few will have seen a performance like this coming from Wolves, whose plans for the season were thrown into disarray last week when boss Julen Lopetegui left, just five days before their opener, with O’Neil coming in. O’Neil, who was sacked at Bournemouth after keeping them in the English top flight last season, will have been thrilled at what he saw as his new side put in a slick counter-attacking display that had United on the run for the majority of the game. But old failings returned as they could not score with any of the 23 shots they had, which will have brought back memories from last season, where they registered just 31 times. “I think we keep doing more like today,” O’Neil said. “My initial thoughts around them not scoring enough goals last year was, we need to arrive in good areas, with good numbers more. “We have enough talent in the group so if we arrive in good numbers, the boys will score goals, no doubt. “I don’t think today was a reoccurrence of the pattern you saw last year. I think if the lads play that game 100 times, they score in 99 of them. “Keep arriving in those areas, keep working with the players to improve understanding and how many times we arrive and the lads will score some goals.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Football rumours: West Ham growing frustrated with Harry Maguire delays On this day in 2008: Britain beat ‘invincible’ France to Olympic sprint gold Gary O’Neil claims referees’ boss told him Wolves should have had penalty

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For Manchester United, the bare minimum was to make a better start to this season than last and the bare minimum was what they delivered. The least convincing of 1-0 wins required a goal from centre-back Raphael Varane when their midfielders and forwards rarely looked like scoring and when United often looked like conceding. They were spared by Wolves’ toothlessness as they scraped their way past a team widely tipped for relegation and whose manager had walked out last week. Even that is an improvement on 12 months ago, when Erik ten Hag’s reign began with a home defeat to Brighton and a 4-0 thrashing at Brentford, but this was a different kind of false start to a campaign. Even the clean sheet for the debutant Andre Onana was partly an indictment, of both his defence and the officials. The £43m goalkeeper somehow avoided conceding an injury-time penalty for clattering into the substitute Sasa Kalajdzic. He had already made two smart saves in as many minutes from another replacement, Fabio Silva. The problem was that he needed to. In a match where Wolves had 23 shots, six on target and an expected goals total of 2.23, all significantly more than their hosts’ tallies, perhaps the deceptive statistic was the scoreline. It flattered United. The more coherent gameplan came from Gary O’Neil, the manager getting to know his players, not Ten Hag, the one who has spent the best part of £400m assembling them. The side with the energy and the ideas were the one who were supposed to be in disarray, Wolves. If the players Julen Lopetegui left behind suggested his complaints that they needed new signings were overblown, they showed a solitary, but familiar, flaw at Old Trafford: they lacked a goalscorer. With one, they would surely have won. The division’s lowest scorers last season assembled a compilation of misses. United, the lowest scorers in the top six, discovered defenders were their best form of attack. After Bruno Fernandes dinked a pass forward, Aaron Wan-Bissaka lobbed a cross and Varane headed in. The presence of each in the box was a sign desperation was starting to take hold. As United had barely created anything of note since Jose Sa saved Marcus Rashford’s 11th-minute shot, their intervention assumed particular importance. Fernandes grew in influence in the latter stages but too many of the other attack-minded personnel were underwhelming. Mason Mount had been substituted at 0-0 and his was not a debut to savour. Alejandro Garnacho earned a starting spot with his performances in pre-season but, when it mattered, offered reminders he sparkled last season when brought off the bench, not when beginning games. One lob aside, Antony did not impress, even though his opponent, Rayan Ait-Nouri, is a left-back with defensive deficiencies. With injury denying Rasmus Hojlund a debut, Rashford led the line, threatening intermittently but often starved of service, in a performance to indicate why he is actually better coming from the left. Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez was booked for needlessly chopping down Pedro Neto and hauled off at half-time before he could be sent off. That Victor Lindelof replaced him was another slight to Harry Maguire, whose last taste of Old Trafford may be as an unused substitute. But United were less than the sum of their parts. If the statement results this weekend, in different ways, came from Manchester City and Newcastle, they can at least take solace in the fact they are not playing catch-up from the opening weekend. Wolves, meanwhile, may have the bittersweet distinction of producing the best performance among the teams who remain pointless. This was supposed to be an ideal time to play them after a summer of strife. They had done a fine impression of a club in chaos off the pitch, but not on it. O’Neil’s first game came five days after he was parachuted in, six after Lopetegui finally talked his way into unemployment, but the former Bournemouth manager seems a skilled troubleshooter. There was continuity on the pitch, however: all 11 starters were at Molineux last season and the sole newcomer, substitute Matt Doherty, is also a Wolves old boy. A team with technical excellence and considerable physicality missed only the finishing touch. Otherwise, they counterattacked well. Pablo Sarabia shot just wide after Matheus Cunha galloped 50 yards to lead a break. A barnstorming run, followed by an effort Onana saved, was another illustration of what the £44m man can bring Wolves; the problem is that, so far, he has not delivered goals. He drove a shot past the far post. He clipped the upright from four yards, following a delightful flick from Neto. He took his return since the start of last season to two goals in 38 games. Ridiculously, Wolves did not start with any player who scored more than two league goals last year. None opened their account for the season and United could be grateful for their impotence. Read More Gary O’Neil claims referees’ boss told him Wolves should have had penalty O’Neil derides decision to not award Wolves penalty at Man Utd ‘VAR is pathetic’: Stelling and the best reactions to Onana penalty incident Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves Man United vs Wolves LIVE: Premier League result and reaction How Sandro Tonali and his Italian predecessors fared on Premier League debuts

Premier League referees’ boss Jon Moss apologised to Gary O’Neil and told him Wolves had been denied a “blatant” stoppage-time penalty in their 1-0 Premier League defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford, according to the Wolves boss. United’s debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana clattered into Sasa Kalajdzic deep into time added on, but Simon Hooper did not react and VAR Michael Salisbury deemed there was no foul, with an incredulous O’Neil instead booked for his reaction. O’Neil said after the match he though Onana was trying to take Kalajdzic’s head off, and then revealed he had received an immediately apology from Moss. “Having just spoken to Jon Moss, fair enough he came straight out and said it was a blatant penalty and it should have been given,” O’Neil said. “I sometimes feel bad. I’ve spent a lot of my day with him trying to understand the new guidelines and how to not get myself booked which I’ve failed in, but fair play to Jon in coming out. “He said it was clear and obvious and he can’t believe the on-field referee didn’t give it and he can’t believe VAR didn’t intervene. It’s probably made me feel worse to be honest because once you know you’re right you feel worse about leaving with nothing.” United boss Erik ten Hag tried to play down the incident, but he was largely alone in thinking the officials got the decision right. “When VAR looked at it and decided not to give it of course we are pleased,” the Dutchman said. “It’s about the referee and the VAR. I think the two players come together and Andre didn’t interfere with the action from them because first was the touch on the ball and then came Andre.” The controversial decision was not the only thing that left the impression United had been lucky to take three points from their opening Premier League match, with Raphael Varane’s 76th-minute header decisive in a laboured performance from the hosts. With O’Neil only a few days into his tenure, Wolves impressed with their attacking intent. They registered 23 attempts at goal, the most for any visiting team at Old Trafford since Chelsea had 25 in November 2005, another match that ended in a 1-0 win for United. Scoring goals was an all-too-familiar problem for Wolves last term but O’Neil was encouraged by what he saw. “Huge credit to the lads,” O’Neil said. “There’s been some negativity surrounding the place but they’ve committed to what we asked of them and gone toe to toe with a top side at a difficult place to come and they’re disappointed. “For the amount of shots we’ve had and the expected goals, we deserved at least a point… “Bigger picture stuff and where we want to take the group, tonight is a big step four days in. Coming to a place like this it could have gone very differently.” United struggled to find any flow and were second best in the second half until Aaron Wan-Bissaka latched on to a dinked ball from Bruno Fernandes, and lifted the ball over for Varane to nod home. “It was a tough game,” Ten Hag said. “I think we can do much better on the ball. We proved that last season and also in pre-season but the pre-season is not the season and when the league starts opponents are more aggressive. “Our decision-making could have been better and were not aggressive enough from that point of view, but there are a lot of positives to take. We fought for our lives and we survived with three points so well done.” Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves How does Moises Caicedo’s Chelsea transfer compare to previous big-money deals? Majid Haq ‘disgusted and horrified’ following racial abuse while umpiring

New Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil was full of praise for his players’ performance even in defeat at Old Trafford, with Manchester United winning 1-0 desite the visitors having plenty more chances during the match. A vibrant performance saw Wolves go close a number of times before Raphael Varane netted the winner, but a late collision between debutant goalkeeper Andre Onana and the away team’s substitute striker Sasa Kalajdzic could have proven a gamechanger - but after a VAR review, no penalty was awarded. The former Cameroon international leapt for a cross but missed the ball and forcefully hit Kalajdzic in mid-air, leaving the striker on the deck, but referee Simon Hooper decided it wasn’t a foul and his team of officials opted against recommending a pitch-side second look. O’Neil was pleased with what he saw in terms of performance after just a few days’ training together, but noted his side needed to find a cutting edge. “I’m disappointed of course that we drive home with nothing. What they gave and how much they committed to the gameplan, they were incredible,” he told Sky Sports at full time. “It was a really good performance but we wanted points and we don’t get any. “We tried to overload the middle and create a little box to make a four versus three. It’s similar to what I’ve always done, it’s not me that created the performance it’s the group of players that put it in. Unfortunately we found a way to not score.” On the late penalty incident, however, he was adamant it should have gone his team’s way - which also seemed to be the prevailing opinion of most onlookers. “I thought live it was a penalty. It looked like the keeper almost took our centre-forward’s head off. Really surprised, I think it’s a foul. If you go for the ball and clatter a player that hard it has to be a foul, but I’m not overly surprised we didn’t get it,” O’Neil continued. “I thought as he jogged over he was going to the screen but in the end he’s booked me and not the goalkeeper for smashing [Kalajdzic]. “I understand it, I don’t accept it fully. For the onfield referee it’s a difficult decision, we can’t just leave it. A lot of people have said it’s a stonewall penalty but we shouldn’t talk too much about that - we’ve come to Old Trafford and had 23 shots after a tough spell. The group deserve huge credit but we don’t want credit without taking points.” Opposing manager Erik ten Hag said: “The ball was gone I don’t think Andre had any influence on the touch. VAR was on our side so we’re happy with the points.” Sky Sports’ panellists on the night were split, with Jamie Carragher suggesting he didn’t expect the ref’s decision to be overturned, while Karen Carney and Gary Neville both felt it should have been a spot-kick to Wolves. Read More Onana takes centre-stage in more than one way as Man United fall flat Curiously expensive mediocrity cost Wolves a manager and now threatens their future Julen Lopetegui quits Wolves on eve of new Premier League season

Manchester United earned a victory at Old Trafford as they hosted Wolves for their opening Premier League match of the season. Raphael Varane headed the hosts ahead in the second half to earn Erik ten Hag’s men all three points but things could have been very different if a VAR decision had gone against the hosts. Wolves, who were the more dominant side on the night, had a penalty shout late in stoppage time. Pedro Neto swung a cross in from the right wing and targeted the back post. Manchester United’s goalkeeper, Andre Onana, came off his line to claim the ball but arrived late. He missed it and cleaned out Wolves substitute Sasa Kalajdzic in the process with the pair clashing heads as Kalajdzic crumpled to the deck. Referee Simon Hooper initially played on as VAR looked at the incident. As the replays were shown it looked increasingly likely that the United goalkeeper may have given away a penalty but the decision went his way much to the befuddlement of many on social media. BBC pundit and former England star Gary Lineker tweeted: “United got away with one there. If the referee had given it they certainly wouldn’t have overruled the decision.” Jeff Stelling, the recently departed presenter of Sky’s Gillette Soccer Saturday, was less composed and labelled the VAR decision “pathetic” saying: “Remind me if I have said this before but VAR. pathetic. How can that not be a Wolves pen? Just a joke as it has been since its inception.” Other takes agreed that Onana had committed a foul with Sky’s Michelle Owen tweeting: “Contact with consequence… how is that not a penalty?! #MNF” ITV’s Mark Pougatch claiming that VAR didn’t do its job to overturn the “howler”. He said: “So VAR gets involved to give a penalty against Son at Brentford yesterday but decides to let that one go… to start the season. “VAR was introduced to eradicate the howler. Personally didn’t think the Brentford penalty was in that category. But THAT was a howler. I know nothing. #MUNWOL” Over on Sky Sports, former Manchester United captain Gary Neville agreed that the penalty should have been awarded saying: “The reason I think it was a penalty was because Onana was nowhere near the ball. I think he was never getting there, he was always under it so he could’ve made a decision before he jumped.” Had the decision been overturned Wolves would have been awarded a late penalty and the chance to equalise which was what their performance deserved. Unfortunately this one went against them and Manchester United claimed the points. Read More O’Neil derides decision to not award Wolves penalty at Man Utd Raphael Varane header earns Manchester United opening victory over Wolves Onana takes centre-stage in more than one way as Man United fall flat Man United vs Wolves LIVE: Premier League result and reaction How Sandro Tonali and his Italian predecessors fared on Premier League debuts Football rumours: Manchester United weighing up approach for Amadou Onana