LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – Erik ten Hag, Manchester United manager, claims that his team was “lucky” not to give up a penalty in their 1-0 victory over Wolves, despite the fact that he thought the decision was correct.
On Monday night at Old Trafford, Raphael Varane’s header in the second half gave United a tense 1-0 victory over Wolves to start their 2023–24 season.
When goalkeeper Andre Onana collided with attacker Sasa Kalajdzic in stoppage time and failed to make contact with the ball, referee Simon Hooper might have given the visitors a penalty, changing the outcome.
Later, the PGMOL apologized for this error, but Ten Hag believed the proper choice had been taken.
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.
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“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.”
Gary O’Neil, the manager of Wolves, said that Jon Moss, the manager of referees at Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), believed that this was a “blatant” penalty and expressed regret for the choice.
Additionally, Howard Webb, the head of PGMOL, allegedly apologized to Wolves officials following United’s loss, not long after discussing the need to reduce high-profile errors and raise standards.
Round two of the new Premier League season will take place on Saturday, when United travel to Tottenham and Wolves visit Brighton.