Too late! Officials apologize because Wolves should have had a penalty at Old Trafford

Following the 1-0 defeat of Wolves at Old Trafford, Wolves' manager Gary O'Neil received an apology from Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). This apology came after the visiting team was not awarded a penalty during the match against Manchester United.

In the 96th minute of the game, United's goalkeeper Andre Onana collided with Wolves' substitute Sasa Kalajdzic, a situation that many believed warranted a penalty. However, referee Simon Hooper did not make the decision to award a penalty at that moment. O'Neil said "Onana tried to take Kalajdzic's head off" and he revealed the PGMOL's manager apologised to him after the game.

United manager Erik Ten Hag suggested Onana "didn't interfere" - which is of course a rather liberal estimation.

"It can always happen. When VAR looked at it and decided not to give, of course we are pleased with it. I don't feel I have to react on O'Neil's interpretation. It's about the referee and the VAR. I think the two Wolves' players come together and Andre didn't interfere with the action."

However, the PGMOL confirmed the incident was checked and not deemed a clear and obvious error, which O'Neil simply couldn't get over.

"I was so angry that they didn't think it was a clear and obvious error. After the game the officials said it was a blatant penalty and should have been given."

Wolves registered 23 goal attempts compared to United's 15. This marks the highest number of attempts by an away team at Old Trafford in a Premier League match since November 2005. The only thing the visitors lacked is the ability to get the ball over the line. It wasn't a dominant start that the Red Devils had hoped for. They were outplayed and were lucky to get away with the points.

Raphael Varane's header in the 76th minute secured a somewhat fortunate victory for United. Ten Hag acknowledged that their performance lacked aggression against the formidable Wolves side.

"It was a tough game and the start is always difficult in a season for every team. Today we can be much better on the ball. Wolves were very aggressive but our skills could be better in decision-making and when we were in a battle we weren't aggressive enough. But I also see many positive things and we had five, six or seven high-ball regains and we have to take more from the turnovers. And in end, with the low block, we fought for our lives. Three points, well done."