LONDON: After sleeping in late, Marcus Rashford helped Manchester United come awake in the Premier League. Manchester City couldn't find a similar spark as its title defense took another stumble despite Erling Haaland scoring yet again. Rashford was dropped to the bench for disciplinary reasons after being late for a team meeting but responded by coming off the bench to give a sluggish United side the spark it needed, scoring the only goal in United's 1-0 win at Wolverhampton on Saturday.
It was enough to lift United into the top four for the first time this season, with Erik ten Hag's side ending the year on a high after three straight wins. Another goal from Haaland wasn't enough to prevent second-place Man City from dropping more points, however, as the defending champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton thanks to a stunning equalizer from Demarai Gray. That gives Arsenal a chance to stretch its lead to seven points when it plays at Brighton in the game, having also seen third-place Newcastle held to a 0-0 draw by Leeds.
Ten Hag's decision to drop Rashford looked to have backfired as United struggled in attack, but the England forward came on after halftime and scored a well-taken goal in the 76th minute. And, unlike Cristiano Ronaldo earlier in the season, he had no problems with the manager's decision. “I was a little bit late for a meeting.
I slept in, overslept, but it can happen,” Rashford said. “I’m obviously disappointed not to play but I understand the decision and I’m happy we managed to win the game anyway. I think we can draw a line under it and move on." Ten Hag also seemed ready to move on, having seen once again how important Rashford is to his team's attack.
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