Fulham boss Marco Silva was left fuming at the VAR and referee as Manchester United snatched a dramatic 3-2 victory with Benjamin Sesko's injury-time winner at Old Trafford after the visitors mounted a brave comeback
17:57, 01 Feb 2026
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Marco Silva, Manager of Fulham, reacts during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on February 01, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
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Marco Silva slammed the referee and VAR after Fulham's gutting defeat at Manchester United(Image: Carl Recine, Getty Images)
Fulham manager Marco Silva was livid with the match officials after his team suffered a last-minute defeat to Manchester United, courtesy of an injury-time goal from Benjamin Sesko. The dramatic climax at Old Trafford saw Fulham claw their way back from a 2-0 deficit, only for United to snatch victory in the dying moments.
United had taken a comfortable lead on Sunday afternoon with goals from Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, but Silva's squad refused to go down without a fight. Raul Jimenez converted a penalty following a foul by Harry Maguire, and Kevin netted a spectacular equaliser in the 91st minute.
However, United immediately retaliated, with Bruno Fernandes setting up Sesko to score a pivotal goal. This ensured that United maintained their flawless record under Michael Carrick's management, much to Silva's frustration.
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 01: Marco Silva, head coach of Fulham, during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford on February 01, 2026 in Manchester, England. (Photo by James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)
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Silva was furious with VAR's decision to award Manchester United a free-kick after overturning a penalty(Image: James Gill - Danehouse, Getty Images)
The first goal for United came from a free-kick awarded after VAR consultation. Initially, referee John Brooks had given United a penalty due to Jorge Cuenca's tackle on Cunha in the box.
However, VAR replays revealed that Cuenca had indeed touched the ball. Instead of overturning the penalty, Brooks altered his decision to a free-kick outside the box as Cuenca had pulled at Cunha's shirt.
Fernandes delivered a cross which Casemiro headed powerfully past Bernd Leno to open the scoring, leading to Silva receiving a yellow card for his protests.
Fulham's Spanish defender #15 Jorge Cuenca (L) clashes with Manchester United's Brazilian striker #10 Matheus Cunha (R) during the English Premier League football match between Manchester United and Fulham at Old Trafford in Manchester, north-west England, on February 1, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or 'live' services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. /
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Jorge Cuenca brought down Matheus Cunha(Image: PAUL ELLIS, AFP via Getty Images)
"The story of the game started with a horrendous terrible decision from John Brooks with the penalty he gave," Silva raged to Sky Sports. "Horrendous decision from that moment, big, big mistake. It was the first time we saw all the Premier League fans and us coaches and players. We have to take all this frustration to win the next one."
He added: "The penalty was given by the tackle. After, because the decision was so bad, they found a different foul.
"I feel my players, I feel our fans but we have to respect and the people in charge. I know why the penalty was given. VAR went in a completely different direction to find something to find a free-kick that was not the reason why the penalty was given."
When questioned whether he had confronted Brooks, Silva responded: "I don't want get more cards because I want to be on the touchline. I don't want to speak more."
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VAR became embroiled in the match again, with officials at Stockley Park stepping in to chalk off Cuenca's second-half strike that would have levelled the score at 2-1. The Fulham defender had netted following two ricocheted attempts, only for Samuel Chukwueze to be deemed offside.
One ruling did favour Fulham, though, with Jimenez being granted a spot-kick after Maguire brought him down whilst attempting to block his effort. His composed penalty brought the visitors back into contention, though it proved meaningless in the end.