Raphael Varane header secures Manchester United victory over Wolves

Manchester United survived a late VAR scare as Raphael Varane's second-half goal saw them overtake an impressive Wolves to kick off their Premier League campaign with a winning start at Old Trafford.

Varane came in from close range 14 minutes from time to ensure an unconvincing display by Erik Ten Hag's side ended in a barely-deserved 1-0 win.

Indeed, it looked like Wolves might have the chance to equalize from the penalty spot on death when goalkeeper Andre Onana appeared to slam against Sasa Kalajdzic, but referee Simon Hooper dismissed the protests and VAR supported his decision.

It was tough because few will have seen a performance like this from Wolves, whose plans for the season were turned upside down last week when boss Julen Lopetegui left just five days before kick-off, with the arrival of Gary O'Neil.

O'Neil, who was sacked at Bournemouth after keeping them in place last season, will have been delighted with what he saw as his new side put on a shrewd counter-attacking display that put United on the run for the majority of matches. game.

But it was old flaws that came back to haunt them as they couldn't take any of their chances, with the electric Matheus Cunha hitting the post in the second half.

United will know a display like this won't be good enough, but they've at least done the job to ensure they join Manchester City and Arsenal in taking maximum points at the weekend opening of the campaign.

There was a small protest outside the pitch before kick-off as United fans chanted again against the Glazers and the club's lengthy sale process, which has been going on since November.

However, the anticipated protests over the possibility of Mason Greenwood being reinstated in the squad have not spread beyond the odd banner, with the striker's fate still unknown as the club are still in phase for consultation following the conclusion of its internal investigation.

Problems off the pitch didn't cloud what was a promising pre-season for Ten Hag's men, although they couldn't translate that into a consistent performance in the opening 45 minutes.

In fact, to their surprise given their preparation for the season, Wolves were the better side as they had United spooked with pace during the break, creating two excellent openings to take the lead.

In the 26th minute, a lightning counter-attack saw Cunha leap forward and pass Pablo Sarabia, but he was slightly behind him and the Spaniard saw his drilled effort go just wide with the help of a deviation.

Another clever move saw the tables turn six minutes later as Sarabia's excellent pass played Cunha, but he fired wide after bursting into the box.

It felt like a wake-up call for United, which came to life in the final 10 minutes of the first half.

There were loud shots for a penalty when Marcus Rashford headed for Nelson Semedo's arm, but the Wolves defender managed to tuck in his limb just in time.

But Wolves regained their counter-attacking verve after the break and should have led in the 50th minute.

Another lung break from Cunha, who ran practically the full length of the pitch, saw him send the ball to Sarabia and it returned to him at the far post, but, slightly off balance, his shot cut the exterior of the message.

The hosts were petrified by Cunha and their defense split alarmingly five minutes later but saw a low shot saved by Andre Onana.

Cunha came on again in the 71st minute with another run that sent United floundering and the loose ball falling on Pedro Neto, but he fired straight at Onana.

What was to come was inevitable as Wolves paid for their lack of a forward edge when United took the lead in the 76th minute.

Bruno Fernandes unblocked the defense to play Aaron Wan-Bissaka and his cross from the right was headed in from close range by Varane.

Wolves knocked on the door to equalize and Fabio Silva netted a hat-trick of chances but was denied by Onana's legs twice while Luke Shaw produced a goal block to earn the victory his team.

The visitors thought they should have had a penalty in the sixth minute when Onana made a walkabout, but Hooper and VAR denied them.