Lisandro Martinez’s wickedly deflected shot and Toby Collyer’s 89th-minute header from the line took Manchester United to a rare Premier League victory under Ruben Amorim, and a 1-0 win at Fulham lifted them up to 12th in the table.
The game was headed for a dull stalemate, with United getting bodies behind the ball as necessary. They did not shoot until the 42nd minute. The 13 throughout the game by both teams was the lowest total for a Premier League game this season.
But with 12 minutes to play, Martinez’s shot from the edge of the box was crossed by Sasa Lukić and went under the bar, brushing Bernd Leno’s fingertips on the way. It was United’s first effort on target. There was also an element of controversy about him being a goalkeeper too, with Martinez escaping punishment for a two-footed challenge on Adam Traore earlier in the half.
United’s win was just as reliant on 21-year-old Collyer getting back to head home Joachim Andersen’s corner with the clock ticking down. Mlade sub was mobbed by his teammates who rushed to celebrate with him.
Rodrigo Muniz volleyed over from six yards in stoppage time for another dismissal for United – although Amad Diallo was also denied, his celebrations dwarfed by a var offside call.
Amorim said before the game that the result was more important than the performance, and he would have been spared celebrating Premier League victory number four in 12 attempts, with Sir Jim Ratcliffe looking on at the Cottage in Craven. As for the performance, there is still a lot left to do.
‘Attack, attack, attack’ chanted the traveling fans as they united on the ball on their backs in the opening 45, seemingly happy to take time out of the game. Their confidence looked fragile – understandably so given they have lost six of their last nine in the league. But these three points will lift spirits for now.
As for Fulham, they will feel hard done by – but their first-half momentum through Alex Iwobi and Raul Jimenez dried up by the time United broke the deadlock and despite scoring twice in each of their last five league games, they could not force a late response . On the side of Marco Silva, stay in 10th place.
More to follow.
The story of the match in statistics …
What’s coming in the Premier League?
