Manchester United avoided a third defeat in a week at Craven Cottage, but the manner of the draw did little to calm the mood around Michael Carrick’s side. Fulham, still without a win, led and looked the more coherent team for long spells before Matheus Cunha salvaged a point late on, his shot striking the unfortunate David Affengruber and deceiving Bernd Leno in the Fulham goal. The equaliser owed much to fortune, and it arrived only after United had stirred following a goal that was entirely of their own making.
That goal was farcical. Lisandro Martínez turned a rebound past his own goalkeeper after Calvin Bassey, having won a challenge against Cunha, barrelled forward and tested Senne Lammens. The concession fitted the flow of a spell in which United could not get out of their own box, and it underlined how little control they had in the centre of the pitch. Sander Berge and Shea Charles dominated that area for Fulham with an ease that suggested Carrick’s renovation of his midfield remains a work in progress.
Bruno Fernandes operated as the No 10 with Kobbie Mainoo deeper alongside Youri Tielemans, signed from Aston Villa for £35m last summer, but the pair struggled to impose themselves. Tielemans has yet to show the form that made him so influential at Villa Park. Andrey Santos, a £50m arrival from Chelsea, was an unused substitute and is yet to prove himself in English football. Carrick will hope Carlos Baleba, back from an ankle injury, makes his debut after the international break.
The summer’s spending has to be viewed in the wider context of United’s rebuild. The club has gone one position at a time in recent windows, with last year devoted to the attack and this one to central midfield, leaving the options at full-back looking short of what a season back in the Champions League demands. Rivals moved differently: Manchester City spent £300m on three midfielders, while Arsenal added depth by buying Bruno Guimarães for £75m. United instead targeted quantity in midfield, and the gap in quality was visible on Sunday.
Fulham cut through the middle repeatedly, particularly in transition. Alex Iwobi surged away from Tielemans during the first half, and Josh King’s raids down the inside-right channel caught the eye. Only poor finishing let Fulham down before the interval. When United did threaten, the end product was thin: only a defensive error from Fulham allowed Fernandes to hit the post at 0-0, Cunha clipped the woodwork via a heavy deflection, and Marcus Rashford wasted two opportunities before being taken off after an unconvincing display on the left. Bryan Mbeumo almost equalised but had an inconsistent game on the right, while Cunha looks uncomfortable as a No 9.
Benjamin Sesko’s absence through injury left United short of an effective target man to bring on, though Carrick does not appear to trust the forward in any case. The lack of quality in the final third was stark, and it is odd that a new-look attack still means a start for Rashford, who was up for sale last year. The picture was not improved by the sight of Joshua Zirkzee being introduced while United chased an equaliser; the Dutch forward has five league goals since joining two years ago.
The performance drew sharp criticism. Commentating on Sky Sports, Gary Neville called out the lack of effort in the 15 minutes before Fulham’s goal, when players went through the motions and pulled out of tackles. Carrick, though, said United controlled a lot of the first half and has disputed the suggestion that his team lacked fitness. Cunha’s own assessment was less generous, saying Fulham “put in more energy than us” at the start of the second half. One concern is that the players are already not following Carrick’s instructions; another is that a window-by-window rebuild has still left United short of ideas in midfield and attack.
Carrick is under pressure. United have five points from five games and are already out of the Carabao Cup, and doubts over whether he deserved the job will only grow. But he is not the first manager to struggle because of wider failings at the club, and he is unlikely to be the last. The ownership remains reviled and the fanbase is becoming increasingly mutinous. The mood at Craven Cottage was summed up by the boos that greeted the substitution of Mainoo with 10 minutes to go, an ominous shift in the away end.