Manchester United matchwinner Marcus Rashford afforded himself a chuckle after missing his alarm for a team meeting, leading to being benched against Wolves.
The England international was initially left on the bench by Ten Hag after what was confirmed as a 'disciplinary' issue. It did not take long for United to turn to the forward though after he was introduced at half-time in place of young forward Alejando Garnacho.
That decision proved to be a master-stroke from the Man Utd boss with Rashford steering home what proved to be the winning goal mid-way through the second-half with a brilliant solo effort. He thought he had notched a second in the closing stages only for a handball in the build-up to deny him.
Speaking after full-time, Rashford confirmed exactly why he was left out of the starting line-up at Molineux. He said: " Yeah it’s team rules, I think it’s a mistake that can happen but disappointed not to play but I understand the decision. Ultimately, I’m happy we managed to win the game anyway so we can draw a line under it and move on.
"I was a little bit late for a meeting, I overslept, it can happen," he added.
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The Man Utd academy graduate now finds himself in a brilliant run of form with 11 goals to his name in all competitions - over double the amount of strikes he netted last season. Those displays were on show during the World Cup in Qatar with Rashford shining for England.
He hailed the mentality of his teammates for helping him find his excellent run of form this term - something that has bore fruit for the Red Devils. Rashford continued: " I’m in a good place, I’m just pleased with the way we’re progressing.
"In the past we can lose that game or definitely draw it, even with scoring one goal they put a lot of pressure on us, they stepped up to us and David had to make an important save at the end and a good save from a free-kick. We’ve always found it difficult here, win and we managed to do that today."
Come the final whistle, there was a long embrace between the striker and his manager Ten Hag - displaying the relationship between the two. Teammate Luke Shaw was full of praise for Rashford and is expecting more from him for the remainder of the campaign despite the issue ahead of kick-off at Molineux.
Speaking to BT Sport, the Red Devils left-back said: "I think he’s in a good way at the moment, extremely confident, positive, happy and it’s nice to see. Everyone knows the quality he’s got, he’s class and he can be one of the best in the world if he keeps going."
