Watch the moment ONANA dribbled three Luton Town players and give assist as Hojlund score a very power goal from outside 18 yard box for Manchester United today
Live updates and match latest as Man Utd travel to face Luton Town in a Premier League fixture at Kenilworth Road.
BySamuel LuckhurstChief Manchester United writerRichard FaySenior Football WriterTyrone Marshall
UPDATED16:51, 18 FEB 2024
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(Image: 2024 Manchester United FC)
Manchester United will be looking to keep their unbeaten run going when they travel to face Luton Town in the Premier League today.
Erik ten Hag’s side rejuvenated their hopes of a top-four finish when they defeated Aston Villa a week ago. It won’t count for much if they fail to win today, though, and United will be desperate to take advantage of Tottenham’s defeat to Wolves yesterday as well.
United have won five of their last six games, including their last four in a row. They last had a longer winning run between November 2022 and January 2023 (9 in a row).
In terms of early team news, Luke Shaw is in doubt after he was taken off at half-time in the win at Villa Park a week ago. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Tyrell Malacia and Mason Mount are all long-term injury concerns.
Stick with us for all the action LIVE.
KEY EVENTS
GOAL! 1-2 Luton (Morris)
16:46
GOAL! 2-0 United (Hojlund)
16:37
GOAL! 1-0 United (Hojlund)
16:32
Luton forced into change after injury blow in warm-up
16:11
TEAM NEWS | Confirmed line ups
15:31
16:54RICHARD FAY
23′ – 1-2
That must have happened three times in the last three minutes United have got into the final third and their decision-making has let them down. Despite the scoreline, they have not created chance after chance, for the first goal was a gift and the second required a sudden intervention from Hojlund.
It sounds like a United fan has been turfed out of the home end.
16:53RICHARD FAY
21′ – 1-2
It’s been an end-to-end match, so sorry for the lack of clear match updates so far.
United still have the best of the chances and look like they are creating something every time they rush forward, but Luton are back in this and will be eager to take the sting out of things for now.
(Image: 2024 Manchester United FC)
16:51RICHARD FAY
20′ – 1-2
Luke Shaw is booked for a foul on Ogbene.
He was also poor for the goal as he collided with Onana, and perhaps he is not as fit as Ten Hag thought he was.
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16:50SAMUEL LUCKHURST
19′ – 1-2
The Luton fan behind us was fearing a “cricket score”. United are certainly hitting more boundaries than England in Rajkot but they have given away their wicket there. Onana is far too tentative, possibly due to the incident against Wolves on his debut. It was an undeniable avoidable goal and now the question is whether United will throw away another two-goal lead.
There is no way this game is ending 2-1. Fernandes wasted a good opportunity on the transition there as United had half of their team in the Luton half. They are making this needlessly hard already.
(Image: 2024 Manchester United FC)
16:48TYRONE MARSHALL
17′ – 1-2
Maybe not on a clean sheet after all. A bit of luck to the goal, Maguire blocks Chong’s shot, and you have to credit Morris’ bravery in putting his head in there. Onana came from it and was beaten to it. It was not a great moment for the goalkeeper.
16:46KEY EVENT
GOAL! 1-2 Luton (Morris)
What were we saying?
There goes the clean sheet, as Carlton Morris beats Andre Onana to a looping ball and bundles it into the back of the net.
16:45RICHARD FAY
13′ – 0-2
United’s game management has been an issue all season, and this is now a welcome test for it again.
Casemiro tried a speculative effort from a distance, and Garnacho fired a tame one straight at goal too.
They can’t afford to waste many more chances, even if the lead is comfortable now.
16:42TYRONE MARSHALL
11′ – 0-2
United’s target from here has to be to keep a clean sheet. They have kept just two in their last nine games, and one of those was at League One Wigan. The other was when West Ham had 22 shots at Old Trafford. The early advantage is a gift, and United can lock this game down now by not giving the hosts a sniff. That will soon quieten Kenilworth Road.
16:42RICHARD FAY
10′ – 0-2
You really do wonder how many this could be now.
Luton are looking to try and keep the ball, but United look electric on the break and almost punish them again as Rashford fires an effort wide of goal.
It wouldn’t be a surprise if they went to get four or five today.
16:40SAMUEL LUCKHURST
10′ – 0-2
Hojlund mishit a right-footed shot in the warm up and it went in. That is the way it is going for him at the moment. He is in the midst of one of those goalscoring runs that define a striker, and there was brilliance about that second goal. He does well to divert it deliberately on target without the ball even grazing his arm. We all know what VAR is like and they could not see anything to rule that out.
16:40RICHARD FAY
8′ – 0-2
When things are going your way, there is little the opponent can do.
Hojlund was in the right place to connect with Garnacho’s initial effort, but the chested effort at goal was utter brilliance.
You make your own luck and he has had that with both goals today.
16:37KEY EVENT
GOAL! 2-0 United (Hojlund)
That should be it already.
Rasmus Hojlund has his second goal of the match as he turns in Alejandro Garnacho’s effort from a corner.
16:36RICHARD FAY
5′ – 0-1
United could have already sealed this match as Kaminski saves from Rashford.
They not only have an early lead, but they are desperate to add to it as well.
16:33SAMUEL LUCKHURST
2′ – 0-1
Perfect start for United. Hojlund was never missing that and that is the difference from the Hojlund who came up against Luton when he squandered that great chance in November. United need to be aiming to put this game to bed early now.
It’s raucous in the row behind us, never mind elsewhere around the ground. They are not just here to sit and admire United and the volume hasn’t lowered drastically, despite the goal.
16:32KEY EVENT
GOAL! 1-0 United (Hojlund)
Well, how about that, then?
Rasmus Hojlund makes it six in a row as he capitalises on a defensive error and coolly finishes past the ‘keeper.
0-0’ – Kick-off
We are under way at Kenilworth Road.
Not long to go
The teams are in the tunnel as we await kick-off at Kenilworth Road.
Erik ten Hag has played down the unique circumstances of this occasion, but it can’t be underestimated how difficult it could be today.
Ferguson tried to sign a Luton legend
The last time United played here in the league was back in 1992 and Mick Harford got the Luton equaliser. Alex Ferguson wanted and tried to sign Harford as the Old Trafford pitch was so bad he wanted a target man for United’s run-in.
Harford, a genuine hard man in an era when his ilk looked as though they were built from granite, is listed in the programme as he is Luton’s chief recruitment officer. He managed Luton as recently as 2022 in a caretaker capacity and is wedded to the club but he encountered United plenty of times in the dugout as Joe Kinnear’s assistant during Wimbledon’s Crazy Gang heyday in the Nineties.
16:21SAMUEL LUCKHURST
We could see a tactical tweak today
Dalot and Rashford have just had a detailed chat. Perhaps that indicates Rashford is switching to the right after Garnacho moved to the left at Villa last week. We’ll know for certain soon.
16:20SAMUEL LUCKHURST
The last time at Luton in the league
United’s last league XI at Luton Town? Schmeichel, Parker, Bruce, Pallister, Irwin, Sharpe, Phelan, Webb, Giggs, McClair and Hughes. That is three away from the immortal ‘94 side (Kanchelskis was on the bench that day, Cantona arrived in November ‘92 and Keane in August ‘93).
What that team oozed is character, as well as quality. United have addressed that issue under Ten Hag and while they have not always got it right, they are a better team with Martinez and Casemiro, Fernandes is a worthy captain, while Mainoo and Garnacho are quintessential United youngsters.
16:18TYRONE MARSHALL
A boost for United
Adebayo is the kind of physical striker that can unsettle this United defence so they might be pleased to see the back of him, with Woodrow a much more diminutive centre forward. Varane and Maguire will fancy their chances of dominating him, which just leaves them with Carlton Morris to worry about.
Luton Town’s Elijah Adebayo gets above Ruben Dias to score against Manchester City
16:11KEY EVENT
Luton forced into change after injury blow in warm-up
It’s bad news for Luton.
Elijah Adebayo has pulled up in the warm-up so Cauley Woodrow is starting instead.
15:57RICHARD FAY
Rasmus Hojlund chasing history
After failing to score in his first 14 Premier League appearances, Rasmus Højlund has scored one goal in each of his last five matches.
A goal in this game would see him become the youngest ever player to score in six in a row, with Joe Willock the current youngest (21 years, 272 days).
(Image: Fantasista/Getty Images)
15:55SAMUEL LUCKHURST
There is pressure on United today
Luton manager Rob Edwards says in his programme notes that he was in attendance for United’s win at Villa Park last week. As vital a win as it was for United, the performance did not match the result, and Edwards must have extracted some hope from how porous United were.
Today, United will have more of the ball than last week, and if they are as clinical, then the result should be a foregone conclusion. For all the pseudo-intellectual guff in football, United have started winning games because they have started scoring goals. Sometimes, it is that straightforward.
(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images.)
15:51SAMUEL LUCKHURST
United injuries taking toll on squad
United must have an undeclared injury as this is two weeks running that Tom Heaton has been absent from the travelling party. Dermot Mee is the third goalie involved in the warm up for the second week running.
Luton wanted to sign Heaton in the summer, so in a game he could have been starting, he is absent entirely.
Manchester United goalkeeper Tom Heaton (Image: David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
15:48SAMUEL LUCKHURST
A Nice reference
This is Tahith Chong’s first league start since December 2. Maybe it is just a coincidence that it is against his former club, or maybe Rob Edwards feels he will be especially motivated against United. Teden Mengi has done really well at Luton, and his absence from the XI for the defeat to Sheffield United was regarded as a mistake by their fans.
Ross Barkley has only ever scored once against United and that was a late equaliser for Chelsea in October 2018. He has risen to the occasion in the televised games, though talk of an England recall seems quite fanciful.
One confirmed admirer of Barkley: Sir Jim Ratcliffe. “I saw him at Chelsea and he’s a really good footballer,” Ratcliffe says in the Ineos book Grit Rigour and Humour. “If his mind’s in the right place and he’s in really good shape, you could play him twice a week because he’s built like a tank, really strong. You have to give a guy a chance to settle. And he gets one game every three or four. It’s ridiculous.”
Ratcliffe is talking about his lack of playing time for Nice. Barkley, of course, lasted one season at Nice.
Luton have made two familiar changes
Rob Edwards makes two changes from the home defeat to Sheffield United last weekend, as former players Teden Mengi and Tahith Chong both start for the home side.
A popular team selection
There can’t be many occasions that Ten Hag has been able to pick an unchanged team this season. While he would love to have Martinez available, the Argentine aside, this is probably the strongest team he can field. He has wanted that stability all season. Now the results have to follow. Having Shaw available is massive, both defensively and offensively, and United have to deliver today with that side.
Erik ten Hag names the same side that beat Villa (Image: AFP or licensors)
15:35SAMUEL LUCKHURST
One player away from full strength
As gutting as Martinez’s injury was/is, United are one player away from their best XI for the second week in a row with Luke Shaw’s swift recovery. The only hit they took from that was the number of times Villa hit Andre Onana with the ball in the second half.
United fans have every right to expect an accomplished win today. They are at near-full strength, have decent depth to call upon, and they are on a four-match winning run.
Luke Shaw arrives ahead of the Premier League match between Luton Town and Manchester United at Kenilworth Road (Image: 2024 Manchester United FC)
15:31KEY EVENT
TEAM NEWS | Confirmed line ups
United XI: Onana; Dalot, Varane, Maguire, Shaw; Mainoo, Casemiro; Garnacho, Fernandes, Rashford; Hojlund
Substitutes: Bayindir, Evans, Lindelof, Diallo, Amrabat, Eriksen, Forson, McTominay, Antony
Luton XI: Kaminski, Mengi, Osho, Bell, Doughty, Lokonga, Barkley, Ogbene, Chong, Morris, Adebayo
Subs: Krul, Berry, Woodrow, Kabore, Burke, Mpanzu, Clark, Townsend, Nelson
Erik ten Hag walks out to check on the conditions (Image: AFP or licensors)
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15:25RICHARD FAY
We’ll have full team news soon
As a reminder, we will bring you the full United team news as soon as it drops at 3:30 p.m. GMT. That is just five minutes away.
Luke Shaw is part of the squad that has arrived at Kenilworth Road, so it could be an unchanged side from the one that started at Villa Park a week ago.
(Image: Matthew Peters/Manchester United via Getty Images)
15:21SAMUEL LUCKHURST
The excitement builds ahead of team news
Harry Styles is here, which will doubtless excite the United media team members given he has donned a United shirt before and grew up in Holmes Chapel. United have only been heading in one direction since their season resumed last month.
Ten Hag was the last off the coach again, as always. He leaves a fair bit of time between the last player disembarking the coach and making his own departure. It is clearly an essential part of his pre-match ritual.