Marcus Rashford sheepishly laughed off his punishment from Erik ten Hag with a smile after scoring the winning goal from the bench for Manchester United in their 1-0 victory over Wolves. The forward was dropped for the trip to Molineux with Ten Hag citing the move as 'discplinary reasons.'
The Red Devils were frustrated by Julien Lopetegui's side in the first half before Rashford's introduction. He then popped up to score the only goal of the game. The 25-year-old has been on top form this season with six goals and three assists in the league, more than he managed in the entirety of the last campaign.
Ten Hag's bold decision to drop Rashford may have pleased top four rivals Chelsea and Tottenham - whilst the gap to Arsenal was cut to eight points at the end of the game - but was proved to be the right call after his matchwinning strike.
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Speaking after the game, Rashford admitted why he was punished from the get go, holding back a smile as he said: "I was late for a meeting and overslept. It can happen."
United play Arsenal in late January which could be a vital match for both sides at the top of the table.
Ten Hag and Rashford appeared to have gotten over the decision at full time though, sharing a hug. "It's the team rules," Rashford admitted. "It's a mistake that can happen. I'm obviously disappointed not to play but I understand the decision. I'm happy that managed to win the game anyway. We can draw a line over it and move on.
"I'm in a good place. I'm just pleased with the way that we're progressing. In the past, we can easily lose or draw that game. Even with scoring one goal, they put a lot of pressure on us. We stood up to it and defended well. David [de Gea] had to make one massive save at the end and a good save from a free-kick. We've always found it difficult coming here but we managed to do it today.
"I've mentioned before, it's difficult to come back because emotion-wise, everyones at difficult levels and stages. It's been important for us to stick together and help each other through difficult moment for the lads that didn't win the World Cup. It's a moment where we need each other a lot.
"It's going to be tough, like any other season. We're going to push ourselves and try to get as high up the table as possible. A lot of teams are doing well this year and have been very consistent. We're going to have to be on top of our game and keep up the momentum and try and go one step forward."
The win put United into the top four for the first time this season after a shaky start under new management. They have now won five in a row in the league though and are mounting a serious challenge for the Champions League places.
Chelsea are now eight points behind United but have a game in hand ahead of their match on New Year's Day against Nottingham Forest.
Tottenham were displaced from fourth after their draw against Brentford and have now played the same amount of matches but could move back into fourth with a win against Aston Villa on January 1.
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