Man Utd held by Wolves in FA Cup stalemate

Manchester United fired blanks again as they were held to a goalless stalemate in the third round of the FA Cup at Wolves.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side have now failed to score in three of their last five games after Saturday's third round 0-0 draw at Molineux.

Sergio Romero's fantastic save thwarted Matt Doherty, while Marcus Rashford hit the bar for the visitors in the second half.

Doherty had a late goal ruled out for handball but it was a forgettable game between two unimaginative teams, who now face a replay at Old Trafford.

United were dumped out of the cup in the quarter-finals by Wolves last season but boss Solskjaer made seven changes with Tuesday's Carabao Cup semi-final first leg against Manchester City in mind.

Wolves, who only trail United by a point in the Premier League, made five and what followed was a largely bland first half.

Mason Greenwood slashed wide after seven minutes and Romain Saiss' deflected header drifted across goal six minutes later.

But - from the resulting corner - Romero kept the scores level when he produced an outstanding reflex stop to deny Doherty at the far post after Leander Dendoncker's flick.

It was a sensational save and gave United some belief as they tried to dictate the first-half tempo, despite lacking a focal point up front.

They failed to conjure a meaningful chance but Brandon Williams appealed for a penalty 10 minutes before the break when he tangled with Dendoncker yet, after a VAR check, his appeals were rejected.

Daniel James scuffed wide as United finished the half strongly but Raul Jimenez replaced Benny Ashley-Seal at the break to give the hosts added threat.

Pedro Neto fired at Romero five minutes into the second half although Juan Mata went closer to breaking the deadlock.

Tahith Chong was taken down by Saiss and Mata's 58th-minute free-kick wrong-footed John Ruddy to drop inches wide.

Fred and Rashford then replaced Mata and James and the England striker should have made an instant impact with 20 minutes left.

Andreas Pereira found the forward free on the left but he took too much time and his curling effort clipped Conor Coady and bounced off the crossbar.

Seven minutes later, defender Doherty thought he had grabbed the winner when he nodded in Jonny's cross but it was rightly disallowed after the ball glanced off his arm.

Jimenez then hit the bar from an acute angle with time running out.

After the game Solskjaer dismissed fears of fatigue at Manchester United despite being forced to settle for an FA Cup replay by Wolves.

A replay in 10 days will be Wolves' 38th game of the season and also takes up United's only free mid-week this month.

But Solskjaer, whose side play the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final against rivals Manchester City at Old Trafford on Tuesday, insisted another match does not faze him.

He said: "We do have enough games and we will probably play Wolves in the Europa League soon, but that's what we're in it for. I would rather have a replay than go out.

"When I played we drew Burton away and they got us at Old Trafford, we beat them 5-0 but it's great days out for them as well.

"It's not just about the top teams having too many games. It's about the draw and romance.

"We had nine games in 29 or 30 days in December so we might as well carry on. It's the schedule we are in and have to accept it. I am full of praise for the players and how they cope with it."

Solskjaer also defended United's attack after Marcus Rashford's deflected effort hitting the bar was as close as they came.

"You can say Marcus' shot is not on target but it's going in if Conor Coady's heel isn't there. We had chances," he said.

"In the first half we had the possession, in the second half they had possession and a couple of chances.

"Both teams could have won it."

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