Bruno Fernandes was the worst Manchester United player in their draw with Fulhamplaceholder image
Bruno Fernandes was the worst Manchester United player in their draw with Fulham | Getty Images
The main talking points and match highlights as Man Utd drew with Fulham in the Premier League.
If there was a feeling of optimism after the narrow defeat to Arsenal, there is now a feeling of repetition after Manchester United’s performance against Fulham. United knew their encouraging display on the opening weekend would count for little if it was not followed by another at Craven Cottage. It wasn’t.
United started well in West London, but regressed into the same shambolic side of last season that lacked cohesion, ideas and spirit as Fulham fought back to grab a well-earned point. There were a couple of decent individual displays from Leny Yoro and Matheus Cunha, but they were outnumbered by those who underperformed.
There simply has to be a huge improvement when United face Grimsby and Burnley in their next two matches this week. Even if they do, they won’t get much credit unless they do it against Man City or Chelsea next month.
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He’s a keeper
Andre Onana was back in the Manchester United squad to face Fulham. It is hard to say whether it is more damning to be left out of the squad altogether, with the convenient excuse of a lack of match sharpness, or named on the bench, back-up to Altay Bayindir, even after his horrendous error on the opening weekend.
The Turkish international was given the nod again at Craven Cottage and did little to suggest he should be the new first-choice instead. He produced some straightforward stops but struggled with set-pieces, with his lack of physicality a key issue again. It feels like only a matter of time before he replicates the error that cost his side so much against Arsenal.
It is an even more delicate situation amid United’s pursuit of Senne Lammens, who is expected to become the club’s fifth summer signing this week. Ruben Amorim insists he is happy with the options at his disposal, but someone will have to suffer from the proposed arrival of Lammens. It might not be Bayindir.
Fernandes falls foul
Bruno Fernandes will take plenty of stick with his dreadful penalty attempt, but just as offensive was his lack of attempt to track Emile Smith-Rowe for the Fulham equaliser. Diogo Dalot lost the ball in an awful position on the right wing, which put United on the back foot, but still gave them time to react and regroup.
The defence dropped deep to anticipate the Fulham attack, other than Fernandes, who was goal side of Smith-Rowe when Alex Iwobi whipped a cross into the box, and still stood on the edge of the box when the Fulham man poked the ball into the back of the net.
Indeed, the goal doesn’t happen without Dalot’s dreadful defensive error, but it could have been avoided had Fernandes tracked his man into the box. The penalty move was poor, but the lack of effort from the club captain was more concerning.
Relying on set-pieces
Manchester United spent £200 million on new attackers in the summer transfer window, but they still had to throw on Harry Maguire in the dying moments to try and win their clash with Fulham. If his late header hadn’t gone wide, it would have been justified, but perhaps it is best that it didn’t.
It is only two games into the new season, and there is already a worrying sense of deja vu about their desperate attempts to win a match. Ruben Amorim was given a lot of sympathy last season, given that he did not want to arrive mid-season, but there will be little sympathy if there is not an immediate improvement in terms of both performances and results.
Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbeumo have both shown signs of encouragement, but neither have scored a goal for the club. United looked more cohesive when Mason Mount was in their forward line rather than Benjamin Sesko, and there is simply no excuse for the lack of scoring threat they possess.
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