Manchester United just beat Fulham away thanks to the only goal from Lisandro Martinez.
Manchester United (MU) performed poorly at Craven Cottage. In the first half, coach Ruben Amorim's team did not have a single notable shot, except for a header by Matthijs De Ligt.
On the day he was given the chance to start, Rasmus Hojlund showed poor positioning, leading to the "Red Devils" passing the ball from the wings being almost ineffective. In addition, the Danish striker also took too much time when he had the ball and did not show the ability to create a wall when his back was to the goal, as Joshua Zirkzee has shown recently.
If he continues to perform like the first half, the one who will have to leave Old Trafford in the next transfer window will be Hojlund, instead of his Dutch senior. Fans are also fed up when hearing the statistics about Hojlund, which is that he has failed to score in 36 of his 48 appearances in the Premier League. This is an unacceptable number for a player who has cost MU more than 70 million euros.
On the other hand, Fulham did not create many dangerous opportunities. In 5 shots in the first half, the home team hit the target twice and were easily cleared by Andre Onana.
In the second half, MU and Fulham continued to play slowly. According to statistics from the Premier League Organizing Committee, the two clubs did not even touch the ball in the penalty area from the 46th minute until the 70th minute.
In a deadlocked match, long-range shots became the option chosen by the home and away teams to settle the match. After Adama Traore's shot went over the bar, MU responded with Lisandro Martinez's shot in the 78th minute. The ball from the Argentine centre-back's foot lightly touched a player in white, changed direction and poured into the net, leaving goalkeeper Bernd Leno helpless.
After conceding the goal, Fulham pressed forward and at times had 81% possession. The home team continuously stuffed the ball into the MU penalty area and almost scored after Andersen headed the ball into the far corner. Luck was on the Red Devils' side, as young midfielder Toby Collyer was there at the right time to clear the ball right on the goal line.
The drama was heightened in extra time. MU had the ball in the home team's net for the second time, after a decisive close-range shot by Amad Diallo. However, the goal was disallowed for offside.
In the end, MU only needed one shot on target in the entire 90 minutes to win at Fulham's home ground. The 3 points helped coach Ruben Amorim's team rise to 12th place in the rankings with 29 points, 11 points behind the position for a ticket to the European Cup.
Premier League table.