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Manchester United traveled to Craven Cottage for their clash against Fulham in the Premier League gameweek 14 on Sunday evening (November 13). The Red Devils required an injury-time winner from the electrifying Alejandro Garnacho to return with maximum points, with his strike securing a 2-1 win for United. Christian Eriksen scored the visitors’ other goal while Daniel James found the back of the net for the home team.
The win in their final Premier League match before the 2022 FIFA World Cup has left Manchester United in fifth place in the Premier League standings. They currently trail fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur by three points but have played a game less than the north Londoners.
In front of a capacity crowd, Fulham enjoyed a bright start to the game. They moved the ball around well and targeted United right-back Tyrell Malacia, who was playing out of position. In the fourth minute, Willian wrongfooted Malacia and offloaded the ball to Carlos Vinicius in the box. David de Gea came across the goal and ultimately saved Vinicius’ deflected strike with his legs.
Five minutes later, United responded with their first effort on target. Anthony Martial rounded Tim Ream and went for Bernd Leno’s goal. The former Arsenal man was alert to the danger and pushed the ball out for a corner. In the 14th minute, Eriksen fired United in front, with him sliding in and guiding Bruno Fernandes’ offload into the back of the net.
Just before the half-hour mark, Harry Wilson tested De Gea with a couple of efforts, but the shot-stopper was more than equal to the challenge. In the 30th minute, Martial had a glorious chance to double United’s advantage, with him finding himself one-on-one with the keeper. Leno, however, made himself big and first smothered the shot and then kept it from crossing the goal line.
Fulham and United traded blows in the first quarter of the second half, but it was the hosts who eventually got the goal. In the 61st minute, Tom Cairney delivered a juicy cross inside the box, which James turned home without any difficulty.
In the 83rd minute, substitute Scott McTominay found himself in space inside the six-yard box. Luke Shaw’s cross was perfect as well, but the Scot just got under the delivery and fired it over the crossbar. Ten minutes later, in the third minute of stoppage time, Garnacho scored the winner, playing a one-two with Eriksen before directing his low shot into the far-bottom corner.
Fulham made United’s life plenty uncomfortable over the course of the match, but the Red Devils ultimately rose above it all to secure the win. Here are three Manchester United players who performed and two who were not at their best on Sunday:
Performed: David de Gea
Veteran stopper David de Gea was sharp as ever under the bar on Sunday. The Spaniard, who has not been included in Spain’s squad for the 2022 World Cup, made some stunning saves, the best of which came in the 52nd minute. He initially denied Vinicius at the near post before saving Ream's point-blank header from the resulting corner.
De Gea made a total of six saves over the course of the game, with five of them coming from inside the box. He also made a high claim, had a successful runout, and delivered three accurate long balls.
Underperformed: Tyrell Malacia
Tyrell Malacia’s inclusion on his list might seem harsh, as the left-back was deployed on the wrong side. However, considering most of Fulham’s attacks came down his flank, we could not help but hold him accountable.
Malacia was turned inside out more often than not, losing possession 12 times against Fulham. He lost four of five ground duels, committed two fouls, and rarely took the fight to the opposition. Erik ten Hag is unlikely to deploy him as a right-back any time soon.
Performed: Alejandro Garnacho
Introduced for Martial in the 72nd minute, Alejandro Garnacho put in a match-winning shift. His goal in injury time was stellar, with him exhibiting breathtaking pace to get to Eriksen’s return ahead of Bobby Reid and finding the composure to roll it past Leno.
Garnacho did not create any goalscoring opportunities and only made five accurate passes, but the injection of confidence he added to Manchester United’s attack was precious. The Mancunians have a potential superstar on their hands.
Underperformed: Anthony Martial
Anthony Martial was picked to lead Manchester United’s attack on Sunday. He combined well with his teammates and contributed to the press, but his finishing was not good enough.
Martial’s miss in the 30th minute, when he was one-on-one with the keeper, was disappointing. Leno did well to make himself big, but a player of Martial’s quality should have found a way to squeeze the ball past him.
Martial played only 18 accurate passes in 72 minutes, lost both his ground duels, lost possession eight times, and committed a foul.
Performed: Christian Eriksen
Manchester United’s midfield general Christian Eriksen dictated the game against Fulham. He superbly anticipated Fernandes’ delivery to slide in and score his first United goal, returned the ball perfectly to Garnacho for his winner, and kept the game flowing with his passes.
At Craven Cottage, Eriksen played two key passes, accurately delivered four long balls, won three duels, and drew a foul. He also cleared the ball once and made an interception.
