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Manchester United played host to Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford on Monday, 14 August, in the last fixture of gameweek one of the 2023-24 Premier League season.
The Red Devils were looking to start their campaign with a win and avoid a repeat of last season's opening-day disappointment. Despite being outplayed by the Wolves, they somehow managed to grab a win after a late point-blank header from Raphael Varane in the 76th minute.
Wolves caused United a lot of problems on the counter and even struck the crossbar in the second half. There was also late drama in the match with a controversial penalty decision not given in Wolves' favor. This article will take a look at some interesting stats from Manchester United's slim win against Gary O'Neil's men.
#1 PL goal involvement for Aaron Wan-Bissaka
Before his assist for Raphael Varane in the last match, Wan-Bissaka has not been involved in any goal in the Premier League for Manchester United in his last 41 appearances stretcing back to the 2020-21 season, when he assisted a goal in the 2-4 home defeat to Liverpool.
The right-back has been one of the club's mainstays in recent years. The English footballer has been deployed as a right wing-back or full-back at United. He made a total of 19 Premier League appearances last season and 20 in the 2021-22 season without scoring or assisting any goal.
Known for his speed and tackling prowess, one would expect Wan-Bissaka to have a couple of assists and even score one or two goals for the club every season. That has unfortunately not been the case in the Premier League.
#2 23 shots for Wolves at Old Trafford
Wolves outplayed Manchester United for most of the second half and arguably were the better side and with only the end product missing. They fired a total of 23 shots against Manchester United which also happens to be the most shots that the club has faced while at the Old Trafford since 2005.
The last club to have fired more than 23 shots against Manchester United at Old Trafford was Chelsea back in November 2005. Manchester United also won 1-0 on that occasion effectively putting an end to Chelsea's 40-game winning streak under Jose Mourinho.
#3 Old Trafford a fortress again?
Manchester United have stretched their unbeaten run at Old Trafford to 30 games across competitions. They have drawn only four games, winning 27 and scoring a total of 67 goals.
Their last home defeat came against Real Sociedad in the 2022-23 Europa League group stage in September 2022. Their longest unbeaten run at Old Trafford stands at 36 games, achieved between December 1998 and December 2000. One can easily bet on Erik ten Hag's United to surpass that record.
#4 Andre Onana makes history
New Manchester United goalkeeper, Andre Onana made history after being just the fifth African goalkeeper to appear in a Premier League match. The previous four were Bruce Grobbelaar of Zimbabwe, Richard Kingson from Ghana, Carl Ikeme from Nigeria, and Edouard Mendy from Senegal.
The Cameroonian goalie made six important saves against the Wolves and kept a clean sheet in his first competitive match for Manchester United. Five were made from inside the box, he gave 26 accurate passes, launched 14 long balls, and had 51 touches of the ball.
