‘I wanted to go at him’ – Man Utd match-winner Rashford reveals plan to exploit Wolves youngster Ait-Nouri

Manchester United star Marcus Rashford has revealed his plan to exploit tiring Wolves wing-back Rayan Ait-Nouri that resulted in the crucial match-winning goal.

Rashford struck the vital blow in the 93rd minute as the Red Devils sunk Wolves 1-0 at Old Trafford to go second in the Premier League table heading into the New Year.

The 23-year-old ran in behind the tiring Ait-Nouri to receive Bruno Fernandes’ pass, before cutting inside and finding the back of the net after a wicked deflection off Romain Saiss.

Ait-Nouri went down injured shortly before Fernandes played the assist to Rashford, with the 19-year-old getting up and scrambling to try to get back into position.

Rashford said he noticed the young wing-back struggling with his fitness and aimed to take advantage by constantly running in behind the French defender.

“It’s the deciding goal,” Rashford said to reporters post-match. “Probably not the most beautiful but we will take what we can get and take the three points and move on.

“Today was tough but we expected a tough game but managed to get over the line.

“The full-back had cramp a few minutes before so I just had it in my head I wanted to go at him and make him chop and turn and just see if I could make something happen and thankfully in the end we got a deflection.

“It means a lot. We were a little disappointed that we didn’t play as well as we wanted to or could have but it is three points and no matter how scrappy it was we will take it.

“For us, we can’t look too far ahead. We are a team that is still doing a lot of work on ourselves. We have to take it one game at a time but if we can keep finding ways to win like this we will see where we are at the end of the season.”

The Red Devils are now clear in second position – two points behind league leaders Liverpool – with a home fixture against Aston Villa to come on New Year’s Day.