Man United 1-2 Fulham: A 15 Year Record Undone!

Published by CM22ENT on 25 February 2024

Manchester United stepped into their game against Fulham Football Club somewhat suffering from the injury bug that has plagued them throughout 2023/24. So much so that a 19 year old Omari Forson was called upon for his first Premier League start in a Carrington manufactured attack. Under 21 captain Toby Collyer also made his first bench appearance.

Erik ten Hag was bullish pre match regarding his beliefs in others stepping up during the absence of a red hot Rasmus Højlund due to injury.

The Cottagers travelled to Old Trafford having won only once away from home in the Premier League on opening day. Despite such an unfavourable statistic, Marco Silva’s side looked determined to perform in an ebullient fashion, enjoying the fair share of possession early, pushing back Manchester United’s defensive line and carving out some decent chances.

On the other hand, Erik ten Hag’s team showcased their prosaic style of regressive performances. Of course, there were flashes of quality that energised an Old Trafford faithful in need of high voltage production, but those were few and far between. Defensively, short circuits were more frequent. Perhaps a positive end to the first half would push those in red to gain supremacy sooner rather than later?

The removals of Casemiro, and Forson for Christian Eriksen and Scott Mctominay with almost 60 minutes elapsed in theory should’ve presented more of an attacking bite, and while the Scotsman is enjoying his most prolific goal scoring season, Eriksen on the other hand seems to be significantly lacking the conditioning and overall sharpness it takes to grab a hold of games like he once could.

Given those and previously explained factors, it came as no surprise to see Fulham break the deadlock following additional stages of sustained goalmouth pressure. The same sort that has forced United into conceding 100 shots in their last five league games. Calvin Bassey was the culprit of Old Trafford’s taming after firing his side into the lead definitively beating Andre Onana.

A customary late push seemed to have rescued at least a point for The Red Devils through de facto striker Harry Maguire, but in a cruel turn of events, It would be Alex Iwobi delivering the unlikely dagger to Manchester’s red army, confirming their first defeat against today’s opponents in 15 years. Two of Nigeria’s AFCON finalists returned to Fulham’s starting lineup, with devastating effect!

It seems as if Manchester United are always a bad result away from crisis conversations, but with a busy week ahead against Nottingham Forest (FA Cup) and Manchester City (PL), will they rock the baby or shrink due to the overbearing weight of responsibilities about to be faced?

How did you assess the game and each team’s performance? Have your say in the comment section, and feel free to follow my accounts on X, TikTok, and YouTube where I’ll be providing extra Man Utd content and updates.