Matheus Cunha’s deflected last-minute equaliser spared Manchester United another defeat at Craven Cottage, wiping out the own goal from Lisandro Martinez that had threatened to hand Fulham the victory.
Fulham’s goal came from an unlikely source in the build-up, with Calvin Bassey getting forward to create it on an afternoon when his positioning was far from straightforward against a United side playing without an orthodox centre-forward. Josh King was the home side’s most persistent threat, always looking to get on the ball, forcing a save from Senne Lammens at the far post and seeing a shot across goal that was heading in until the visiting keeper kicked it away. King also blotted his copybook by being booked for diving. David Affengruber had earlier produced an excellent defence-splitting pass to release King, who could not finish, while Alex Iwobi’s low cross almost created a chance for Gonzalo Garcia, who was half a stride away from a tap-in, and another deep delivery did for King. Antonee Robinson pushed into advanced areas as an inside forward and caused the visitors a defensive problem, and Sander Berge had a shot from the edge of the area turned away by Lammens.
Bernd Leno was alert from the start, making an early save from Martinez and scrambling as Cunha’s effort looped on to a post, before denying Bryan Mbeumo with a full-length save. Timothy Castagne was booked for bringing Marcus Rashford down as United broke in the second half, while Marco Silva’s substitutes kept Fulham ticking over after the changes.
At the other end, Lammens made key first-half saves to keep United level and came out bravely at Iwobi’s feet to prevent another Fulham chance, although his distribution could have been better and he did not cover himself in glory for the Fulham goal. Diogo Dalot’s tidy spin and dash into space created a chance for Rashford, but he was left with too much defensive work to do and lacked cover far too often. Harry Maguire used his experience to draw a foul out of King as United dealt with pressure near their own goal, and Luke Shaw, back from a three-match absence, gave the side far more balance. Martinez, meanwhile, saw a well-struck half-volley draw an excellent save out of Leno before he eventually found the net at the wrong end.
Further forward it was a difficult afternoon for United. Youri Tielemans wasted an excellent opportunity when he got no power behind his effort after running on to Rashford’s short pass. Kobbie Mainoo was his usual tidy self in possession without making the key passes, and Bruno Fernandes saw a low shot come back off the post from a Cunha cut-back. Rashford had an attempt of his own before the break saved by Leno, and another, better opportunity flew way over the bar. Cunha, again deployed in the number nine role he does not appear suited to, created an excellent chance for Fernandes and was probably the visitors’ most dangerous forward.
The ratings reflected Fulham’s stronger afternoon. King was the outstanding performer with an 8, the highest mark awarded to any player, while Leno, Affengruber, Bassey, Robinson, Berge and Iwobi all scored 7 and Cunha took United’s best mark with a 7. In the readers’ ratings, Leno was named player of the match with an average of 6.86, followed by King on 6.75, Shea Charles on 6.63, Bassey on 6.59 and Iwobi on 6.58. United’s highest average was Lammens on 4.93, with Mainoo on 4.74 and Cunha on 4.72, and the lowest marks of the day went to Martinez on 3.78, Dalot on 3.75 and Joshua Zirkzee on 3.69. No United player reached an average of 5.