Cunha rescues point at the cottage
Manchester United were grateful for a late equaliser by Matheus Cunha to earn a point at Fulham. After a goal-less first half, the game sprang to life with a bizarre own goal by Lisandro Martinez. The Brazilian popped up to prevent a third straight loss.
It was a tough blow for the hosts though. They appeared to be on track for their first win of the season following the mistake by Martinez. They can gain confidence after two impressive draws after a tough start.
Michael Carrick made a number of changes from the side who lost to Brighton midweek. But just one to the Manchester derby defeat. Luke Shaw was fit enough to take his place ahead of Patrick Dorgu. Carlos Baleba made his first appearance on the bench.
Fulham were unchanged from their draw at Anfield last weekend. Josh King may have missed out on England selection during the week, but he was hoping to continue his impressive form so far.
Both sides were probing one another without really creating a chance of note in the early stages. The first real opportunity came on 10 minutes. Bruno Fernandes saw a header deflect out for a corner. He took it himself and the set piece came out to Lisandro Martinez. He let fly from the edge of the area which Bernd Leno just tipped over.
At the other end, Josh King and Gonzalo Garcia both put efforts over the bar. The attacking quartet for the home side were combining well and causing problems for Utd’s midfield.
Despite that, the reds came closest to scoring after 25 minutes. Matheus Cunha outmuscled David Affengruber before laying it off for Fernandes. His shot came back off the left hand post and was cleared away.
The hosts came back and Senne Lammens was called into serious action with a trio of saves. First he denied King with a half-volley, then Sander Berge with a low shot down to his right, before king was stopped again with an effort from a tight angle.
Marcus Rashford did have a pair of chances towards the end of the half. He was unable to keep them on target though.
The tempo and urgency from both sides dropped noticeably after the break. That was until the hosts went in front in a farcical circumstance just after the hour. Calvin Bassey prevented a breakaway from a corner and shot goal-wards. Lammens produced another save but it rebounded off Martinez and trickled into the net.
The visitors tried to respond and Fulham were indebted to Leno for keeping them in front. A corner was played short out to Bryan Mbeumo who curled an effort bound for the top corner. The German keeper just about got a hand to it. Cunha then spun in midfield before firing to the bottom right corner. Leno got a strong hand to tip it away.
It looked as if Utd were looking out of ideas when they levelled up affairs in the 89th minute. Cunha cut in from the left flank after he moved there following changes. His shot took a wicked deflection off Affengruber to wrong foot Leno. It was his fifth in seven games against the West London club.
United piled on the pressure but ran out of time.
Fulham: Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, David Affengruber, Calvin Bassey, Antoniee Robinson, Sander Berge (Hugo Larsson 77), Shea Charles, Josh King (Joachim Andersen 80), Oscar Bobb (Kevin 71), Gonzalo Garcia (Rodrigo Muniz 80), Alex Iwobi (Cesar Palacios 71)
Subs not used: Benjamin Lecomte, Ryan Sessegnon, Manuel Ángel, Emile Smith Rowe.
Booked: Josh King (45), Timothy Castagne (49)
Sent Off: None
Manchester United: Senne Lammens, Diogo Dalot, Lisandro Martinez, Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw (Patrick Dorgu 84), Youri Tielemans, Kobbie Mainoo (Mason Mount 80), Bryan Mbeumo, Bruno Fernandes, Marcus Rashford (Joshua Zirkzee 77), Matheus Cunha
Subs not used: Karl Darlow, Noussair Mazraoui, Leny Yoro, Andrey Santos, Ayden Heaven, Shea Lacey.
Booked: None
Sent Off: None
Referee: Peter Bankes
Attendance: N/A
Simply Red Man of the Match: Josh King
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