Rashford’s late goal takes Man U to 2nd

Manchester, December 30

Three weeks after crashing out of the Champions League, Manchester United are looking more like potential English champions again. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side rose to second place — two points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool — with a 1-0 win over Wolverhampton on Tuesday.

While ponderous at times, United pushed for a winner that came in the third minute of stoppage time when Marcus Rashford’s shot deflected off Romain Saiss and wrong-footed goalkeeper Rui Patricio. “It’s probably not the most beautiful goal but we’ll take the three points and move on,” Rashford said. “Today was tough but at the end of the day we managed to get over the line.”

Leeds rout

In a meeting of promoted clubs, Leeds routed West Bromwich Albion 5-0.

Alexandre Lacazette scored 29 seconds after entering the field as a second-half substitute to give Arsenal a 1-0 win at Brighton. The win eases some pressure off manager Mikel Arteta as Arsenal rose to 13th place. — AP