Man Utd 1-0 Wolves: Juan Mata wins FA Cup replay at Old Trafford as Marcus Rashford goes off injured

Wolves had an early goal ruled out by VAR for handball and United, in front of a crowd of just 67,000, took advantage with Mata making the difference with a delightful second half chip.

The Spaniard's strike was enough for United to book a fourth round tie with Tranmere or Watford after their third-round replay was postponed on Tuesday because of a waterlogged pitch.

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Wolves were almost gifted the lead after 10 minutes when a poor pass from Fred bounced off Nemanja Matic and Raul Jimenez won a challenge with Harry Maguire.

But the ball hit Jimenez on the hand before it reached Pedro Neto who stroked it into the net. Following a VAR review referee Kevin Friend ruled out the goal.

Mata and Daniel James both went close to breaking the deadlock and Matt Doherty hit the woodwork as the first half ended goalless at Old Trafford.

Mata saw Ruddy keep out his effort before Doherty's header came back off the post. James had the best chance but hit his shot straight at Ruddy following a run into the area.

It was United who broke the deadlock through Mata with 67 minutes on the clock.

Anthony Martial's neat turn and pass sent Mata through the middle of the Wolves defence and he kept his composure to chip the ball wide of Ruddy.

Rashford made a 15-minute appearance as a substitute for James but had to be replaced by Jesse Lingard after picking up an injury.

Mata told BT Sport: "They are a difficult team, they play in a certain way and they do it very well. They are very organised and they are hard to break down.

"It is a good result for us, we have had a good couple of days and now we have a big one coming (Liverpool on Sunday) so hopefully we can carry on."

Manchester United 1-0 Wolves Opta stats

• Manchester United have won each of their last six home matches in the FA Cup without conceding a single goal in this run.
• Wolves have been eliminated at the third round stage or earlier in seven of their last nine FA Cup campaigns, this after having made it to at least the fourth round in each of their nine seasons in a row before this.
• Man Utd have won nine of their last 10 home matches against Wolves in all competitions (D1), keeping six clean sheets in those games.
• Juan Mata has been directly involved in three goals in his last two games for Man Utd (one goal, two assists), as many as he was in his first 20 appearances of the 2019-20 season in all competitions before this.
• Since his FA Cup debut in January 2016, Man Utd forward Anthony Martial has eight assists in the competition; only Marcus Maddison (11) has more in this time.
• Marcus Rashford was the first Manchester United player to both come on as a substitute before then being substituted himself in the same FA Cup match since Alan Smith against Liverpool in February 2006.

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