Report as Bruno Fernandes’ stoppage-time strike earns Manchester United a 1-0 win at Fulham; pressure relieved on Erik ten Hag as his side bounce back from successive 3-0 defeats; Scott McTominay saw early goal controversially disallowed; Man Utd go sixth, Fulham 14th
After back-to-back 3-0 defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle, questions were increasingly being asked of the manager, and eyebrows were raised before kick-off when Marcus Rashford was left out of the squad.
Man Utd explained that the forward – who was criticised by Ten Hag on Friday for going out to celebrate his birthday in the wake of the defeat to City – was injured.
In Rashford’s place, it was McTominay who found the net for what he thought was his fourth goal in as many Premier League games – only for the officials to decide Harry Maguire was marginally offside in the build-up after a lengthy review.
Man Utd rarely troubled Fulham’s goal again – until Joao Palhinha’s scuffed clearance found Fernandes on the edge of the area, with the captain squeezing a finish inside the near post and providing a much-needed boost to his embattled manager.
After eight defeats in their opening 15 games this season, the heat on Ten Hag had grown to such a level that Man Utd felt the need this week to deny reports they were contemplating a successor for the Dutchman.
The furore over Rashford’s off-field antics – and his apparent failed fitness test before the game – hardly helped the manager, but McTominay looked to have handed his side a perfect start when he turned in Alejandro Garnacho’s low pass from a free-kick.
However, his celebrations were halted by what turned out to be a lengthy VAR review. Garnacho and McTominay were both onside but referee John Brooks was eventually called to the monitor to determine whether Maguire – who was marginally offside – was interfering with play when he tried and failed to get to the original free-kick.
Brooks quickly decided the goal should be disallowed because of a ‘subjective offside’. However, whether that constituted a clear and obvious error – and whether Maguire even impacted Fulham’s defenders – is up for debate.
That controversial incident was the only one of note from a disappointing first half which saw both sides muster one shot on target between them.
Fulham appeared to belatedly sense an opportunity against their beleaguered hosts and went close to opening the scoring twice in a matter of moments.
Andre Onana firstly denied Harry Wilson’s dipping volley with an unorthodox but ultimately effective save, before then parrying away Palhinha’s powerful close-range effort.
Rasmus Hojlund was removed after another frustrating outing – he received just one pass in the opposition box – and Man Utd looked to be heading for a third game without a win or a goal.
But Fernandes – who faced calls from Roy Keane last week to have the captaincy removed – stepped up in the final moments, pouncing on an error from his Portugal team-mate Palhinha and removing some of the storm clouds that had gathered over he and his manager.
Manchester United have scored two 90th-minute winning goals in the Premier League this season (also Scott McTominay vs Brentford), as many as they scored across the previous two seasons combined.
Fulham are currently winless in 18 games against Manchester United in all competitions (D3 L15) since defeating them 3-0 in December 2009 in a Premier League encounter.
Manchester United have won three consecutive away games in the Premier League for the first time since a 10-game run between June and December in 2020.
Bruno Fernandes has been directly involved in 122 goals in 200 appearances for Manchester United in all competitions (67 goals, 55 assists), which is 33 more than any other player for the club since his debut in February 2020 (Marcus Rashford, 89).
Source Sky Sports news
