Fulham Stuns Man Utd: Red Devils Held to Frustrating 1-1 Stalemate - Player Ratings
Manchester United were held to a draw by Fulham on Sunday afternoon, with both sides sharing the points in a 1-1 stalemate at Craven Cottage.
Despite their opening day defeat, United emerged from their encounter with Arsenal carrying positive vibes, and this confidence carried over into the opening stages of Sunday's match. New signing Matheus Cunha nearly opened the scoring early on, with his clever nutmeg finish past Calvin Bassey striking the woodwork.
The Brazilian forward threatened again during United's promising opening period, expertly controlling Altay Bayındır's long pass before forcing an outstanding stop from Bernd Leno in a one-versus-one situation.
Nevertheless, the home team found their rhythm, capitalizing on United's inadequate defensive pressing. They consistently found their numerical advantage in the middle of the park, frequently bypassing the visitors' high press to reach dangerous areas. While Fulham struggled to carve out clear scoring opportunities, they troubled Bayındır considerably from dead-ball situations.
Unexpectedly, United were presented with a golden opportunity to register their opening Premier League goal of the campaign when Bassey was adjudged to have fouled Mason Mount inside the box. VAR reviewed the incident and Chris Kavanagh ultimately pointed to the spot, but Bruno Fernandes blazed his penalty attempt well over the crossbar.
An encouraging second-half opening for Fulham prompted Ruben Amorim to make early changes, with Benjamin Šeško introduced to energize a United team that had begun to lose momentum in west London. The tactical adjustment proved effective, as they grabbed the opener shortly afterward.
The impressive Leny Yoro rose above everyone from a Bryan Mbeumo corner delivery, escaping punishment for nudging Bassey, to nod home via a cruel deflection off Rodrigo Muniz.
United's celebration was brief, however, as Marco Silva responded with his own substitution to help Fulham level the score. Fresh substitute Emile Smith Rowe had barely entered the action when he tucked away the equalizer from Alex Iwobi's delivery, a strike that surely brought joy to Arsenal fans watching.
This development set up an intriguing final period, with Silva's team looking more threatening to find a winner. No decisive third goal materialized, though, and a stalemate seemed a fair outcome.
Man Utd Player Ratings vs. Fulham (3-4-2-1)
*Ratings provided by FotMob
Player | Rating Out of 10 |
|---|---|
GK: Altay Bayındır | 7.2 |
CB: Leny Yoro | 7.5 |
CB: Matthijs de Ligt | 7.5 |
CB: Luke Shaw | 6.4 |
RWB: Amad Diallo | 6.7 |
CM: Bruno Fernandes (c) | 7.2 |
CM: Casemiro | 6.7 |
LWB: Patrick Dorgu | 6.2 |
AM: Bryan Mbeumo | 6.6 |
AM: Mason Mount | 7.4 |
CF: Matheus Cunha | 7.0 |
SUB: Benjamin Šeško (55' for Casemiro) | 6.3 |
SUB: Diogo Dalot (53' for Amad) | 5.5 |
SUB: Manuel Ugarte (69' for Mount) | 6.6 |
SUB: Harry Maguire (80' for Yoro) | N/A |
SUB: Ayden Heaven (87' for Shaw) | N/A |
Subs not used: André Onana (GK), Tyler Fredricson, Kobbie Mainoo, Joshua Zirkzee.
Man Utd's best players: Leny Yoro, Matthijs de Ligt
Player of the Match: Kenny Tete
Fulham (3-5-2): Bernd Leno; Kenny Tete, Joachim Andersen, Calvin Bassey; Timothy Castagne, Sander Berge, Saša Lukić; Alex Iwobi, Ryan Sessegnon; Joshua King, Rodrigo Muniz.
Subs: Benjamin Lacomte, Harrison Reed, Raúl Jiménez, Harry Wilson, Tom Cairney, Adama Traoré, Jorge Cuenca, Emile Smith Rowe, Antonee Robinson.