Manchester United forward Matheus Cunha acknowledged that the Red Devils failed to beat Fulham in the Premier League due to goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
The Red Devils shared the spoils against Fulham at Craven Cottage yesterday. They had 25 scoring attempts on the day, with seven of those on target.
Despite this, they managed to score just once through Cunha in the 89th minute. A wicked deflection off David Affengruber’s left foot took the ball beyond Leno’s reach.
Speaking after the game on BBC Match of the Day, Cunha said that United created a lot of chances in west London and would have won the game with better finishing.
He added Leno was ‘unbelievable’ after some exceptional saves at Craven Cottage, and there was some luck at the end with a deflection taking the ball beyond the German.
Cunha said: “I think we created a lot. Fulham played well also. We got our chances, if we finish them we can finish game with three points.
“Bernd Leno is always a good goalkeeper, today he was unbelievable. We have to congratulate him but also improve.
“To beat Leno today we needed a bit of luck, and I got that luck to score the goal. Maybe if it doesn’t touch anyone, it doesn’t go in.”
Leno was exceptional between the sticks for Fulham. He made a sublime fingertip save to deny Lisandro Martinez what would have been the goal of the league season.
Martinez ended up conceding an unfortunate own goal. Senne Lammens, who was brilliant in goal too, could have probably gone with his hands rather than his feet to save.
On the other end, Leno came up with two more phenomenal stops to deny Bryan Mbeumo and Cunha, but United eventually managed to score with a huge deflection.
United deserved the point for their improved performance, but may feel they could have won. Leno made three crucial saves, while Cunha and Fernandes hit the woodwork.
Marcus Rashford was also guilty of squandering a clear-cut chance in the opening half.
On a personal level, Cunha should be pleased with the goal. He scored for the first time in the league this campaign and continued his fine record at Craven Cottage, netting for a fourth occasion.
Still, there is plenty of room for improvement in other aspects after the international break.
Fulham outran United by around five kilometres yesterday, which should not happen at this level. There were several players who were at walking pace at different stages of the game.
The intensity off the ball has dropped from the back end of last season. Manager Michael Carrick needs to address this soon or his position could come under scrutiny if results don’t improve.
Stats from Sofascore.com