Bruno‘s excellent injury-time goal gives United crucial victory
Harry Maguire put in a MOTM performance as captain Bruno Fernandes’ sublime finish gave United a vital win over an average Fulham side.
A special mention must go to the travelling fans who were sensational today; helping to keep the players going right to the final whistle.
Speaking after the match manager Erik Ten Hag said:
“It was a solid performance, we were dominant on the ball and we pressed well. The team has a good spirit and we need that every game. We have to bring this [in the next game on Wednesday].”
Ten hag shortly after the final whistle
A lacklustre performance but the result was everything
There were questions before the game when Varane and Rashford were left out – the latter supposedly for injury concerns, and it looked like United were limping to a drab 0-0 draw after another uninspiring performance.
There were few moments of quality from either side and chances were few and far between. Yet again, United lacked a cutting edge. Rasmus Hojlund had been taken off after hardly being in the game, Eriksen was full of mistakes and the less said about the substituted Antony the better. The midfield of Eriksen, McTominay and Fernandes had largely struggled to play through a solid Fulham structure.
However, it was again a moment of individual brilliance that won United the game. The ball fell to Fernandes just outside the box after some scrappy defending, before the Portuguese sold two Fulham players a dummy, cutting back onto his right foot and sending a side-foot finish past Leno in the Fulham goal.
United’s defence had a decent game, with Onana, Dalot, Evans and Wan-Bissaka looking solid and Harry Maguire putting in a MOTM performance at the back.
Player ratings and Man of the Match
Onana – 7. No mistakes, some big saves and good distribution. Onana will be happy to be out of the headlines after the past couple of months or so
Dalot – 6. An decent defensive performance and better than against City and Newcastle. Combined with Garnacho quite well.
Evans – 6. A solid performance. It was a surprise he started over Rafael Varane, but the 35-year old didn’t look out of place
Maguire – 7 MOTM. Very solid in the air, fought hard for the badge and sprayed some quality long passes out from the back. Showed great character to recover from a worrying knock to the head in the first minute. Credit must go to Harry Maguire, who seems to be having something of a renaissance.
Wan-Bissaka – 6. A decent game given it was his first league start for some time. Still could do with more urgency in his forward passing.
Eriksen – 4. Not incisive enough in his passing and subbed on 80 minutes. A fairly poor performance.
McTominay – 6. Unfortunate to have an early goal chalked off for a Harry Maguire offside. Otherwise was industrious in both attack and defence
Fernandes – 7. Kept trying to play incisive passes and industrious throughout. Popped up with the crucial when it mattered.
Hojlund – 5. A particularly quiet game but you can’t fauly the Dane’s effort to get into the right positions. Sorely lacking service.
Antony – 2. Offered almost nothing whatsoever and doesn’t look up to the physical demands of this league. Rightly subbed on the hour mark.
Subs:
Pellistri – 6. Worked hard on the right and was a clear upgrade on Antony. Claimed an assist for the goal and his determination on the wing led to the situation.
Martial – 5. Had some decent moments in United’s build-up play and saw an acrobatic volley flash just wide.
Mount – 4. An anonymous ten minutes. Where does his United career go from here?
Varane – N/A. Came on for 3 minutes or so to help United see out the result.
A win is a win, but questions remain
The result was the crucial thing today, but the concerns over the performance will remain.
If United had drawn the game 0-0 as looked likely, all the talk would be around the manager’s future. There were good parts of the match, particularly in the first half, but we seem almost incapable of breaking down average teams.
The result will buy Ten Hag time, but we simply must start putting in better performances and picking up convincing results.
United must go again in mid-week
United’s Champions League future hangs in the balance with a tricky away game at Copenhagen. Hopefully the result acts as fillip for the team, and we can now kick on and start putting in the performances that we need.
