Manchester United made it hard work for themselves on Sunday afternoon as they managed to secure their fourth straight victory in the Premier League at Luton Town.

To the home side's credit, they piled on the pressure in the second half and on another day could have snatched an equaliser in stoppage time as Ross Barkley's header flashed just over the bar. That is not to say the Reds weren't good value for their three points though.

They had numerous chances to kill the game off as they kicked towards their supporters. Bruno Fernandes, Rasmus Hojlund and Alejandro Garnacho all spurned opportunities to ensure a nervy end to proceedings.

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After such a tight contest, it was to be expected that Luton Town manager Rob Edwards was going to be disappointed. However, in a bizarre turn of events, the 41-year-old appeared to suggest United had been favoured by a beneficial amount of added time.

Edwards told beIN Sports: "Yeah, it's like back to last season that wasn't it? I don't know where that one came from.

"Man United are winning 2-1... so it's four minutes!" Edwards, who has earned plenty of admirers from across the division, let himself down at that moment and perhaps wishes he could take that comment back.

Sadly this lazy dig at the officials plays into the conspiracy theory which many rival fans believe. This idea that the so-called 'Big Six' benefit from lenient decisions is not only dangerous but in the case of stoppage time specifically, factually inaccurate.

During United's victory over Aston Villa, seven minutes were added on as United protected their lead. Meanwhile, in the 4-3 thriller against Wolverhampton Wanderers, the fourth official signalled a whopping nine minutes.

While the decision to add four on seemed slightly low, it was not a scandalous call considering there were no further goals in the second half and not many substitutions made. As mentioned before, we enter perilous territory when managers of whichever persuasion begin to suggest there is an agenda either for or against certain clubs.

Throughout a season, these incidents tend to balance themselves out and no doubt Luton will be on the receiving end of some fortunate stoppage time between now and May.

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