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Manchester United required a late shimmer of inspiration from Bruno Fernandes to seal a 1-0 win at Craven Cottage on what was often a stale afternoon.
This was far from a textbook performance from Erik ten Hag’s men but in the immediate aftermath, the only thing they will care about is the three points.
It started as a day of uncertainty with Marcus Rashford left out with an injury and Raphael Varane benched for Jonny Evans again, but they held their nerve against a Fulham outfit who had more shots than them.
Meanwhile, it was a solid day for Calvin Bassey and Harry Wilson but Marco Silva’s men slipped to a third defeat in five Premier League outings.
Here are Mail Sport’s player ratings from Manchester United’s trip to Fulham.
Bruno Fernandes scored a late winner for Erik ten Hag’s side at Fulham after a nervy game
Fulham (4-2-3-1)
Bernd Leno – 6.5
Did well to deny Bruno Fernandes a couple of times and keep out Alejandro Garnacho but ultimately could not deny United’s captain.
Timothy Castagne – 6.5
Didn’t have a particularly notable afternoon but kept Garnacho relatively quiet and was caused by him in the second half.
Calvin Bassey – 7
One of Fulham’s best players this afternoon. Looked dependable on and off the ball, though he did have a lapse in the first half when he passed it out of play under no pressure.
Tim Ream – 6
Got involved in a scrappy game but ultimately lost the ball when he smacked the ball into Facundo Pellistri in the build-up to Fernandes’ goal.
It was a battling performance from Calvin Bassey, who was among Fulham’s best players
Antonee Robinson – 6.5
First player to be booked for his first-half foul on Antony but the United winger caused him little trouble overall.
Harry Wilson – 7
Denied by Andre Onana, Jonny Evans, and his own mishits but was always trying to ake things happen.
Joao Palhinha – 6.5
Clearly a quality player and showed flashes here, popping off shots when he could. Gave away the free-kick before Scott McTominay’s disallowed goal and was booked for a soft foul on Bruno Fernandes. Late shot blocked.
Alex Iwobi – 6
Had probably the worst shot of the day when he blasted miles over late in the game. Booked after fouling Garnacho.
Harry Wilson looked dangerous down the right flank for Fulham but couldn’t score or assist
Andreas Pereira – 6.5
Did decent enough when recalled to play his former side but things didn’t quite come off for him. Heavy touches, misplaced passes.
Willian – 6
The most dangerous player for Fulham in the early stages and popped up with shots and crosses, but Maguire dealt with him when he cut inside.
Rodrigo Muniz – 5
Went down a couple of time and came off injured and in tears on his first Premier League start. You’ve got to feel for him. Headed over the bar on a couple of occasions.
Marco Silva (manager) – 6
Will be disappointed that his side couldn’t take anything against an out-of-sorts United.
Substitutes:
Sasa Lukic – 6
Carlos Vinicius – 6
Raul Jimenez – NA
Bobby De Cordova-Reid – NA
Tom Cairney – N/A
Manchester United (4-2-3-1)
Andre Onana made a couple of important saves in the second half as United came under pressure at times from the hosts
Andre Onana – 7
Kept his first Premier League clean sheet since September. Admittedly didn’t have much to do but did fine when Harry Wilson and Joao Palhinha called him into action.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka – 7
This was more like it. After returning from the sidelines in the humiliating defeat to Newcastle, he impressed on his first start since mid-September.
Harry Maguire – 8
Looking increasingly like his old self. Played the full match despite going down a couple of times with a head injury. Deemed offside and to have interfered in the run-up to Scott McTominay’s disallowed goal.
Jonny Evans – 6.5
People questioned him starting over Raphael Varane again but he did himself no disservice. Blocked some shots and even had an ambitious volley effort, though it went over.
Harry Maguire received medical attention twice for a head injury but played the full 90 minutes and performed well
Diogo Dalot – 6
Cleared off the line but didn’t exactly keep Wilson quiet and was booked for hacking him down in the closing minutes.
Christian Eriksen – 5
A mixed bag where he floated in some nice balls but also made errors.
Scott McTominay – 6.5
Had a goal ruled out by VAR and was eager to make a difference today, making plenty of surging runs forward.
Bruno Fernandes – 7
Confounded his critics with a nicely worked goal in stoppage time. How he needed that. Forced Leno into a save with a free-kick, too.
Antony struggled and was taken off just after the hour mark for youngster Facundo Pellistri
Alejandro Garnacho – 6
Offered moments where he looked threatening. Clearly talented and, aged 19, he has plenty of time to develop into the sort of player who can impact the game for longer periods. Booked for a foul on the counter.
Rasmus Hojlund – 5.5
Struggled when the service wasn’t particularly good. Frustrated to be taken off for Anthony Martial but he wasn’t serving the goods.
Erik ten Hag (manager) – 6.5
Hardly extracted an uber-convincing performance from his team but made the right choices bringing off Antony and Hojlund and ultimately got a win.
Rasmus Hojlund was contained by Calvin Bassey and had another difficult afternoon
Substitutes:
Facundo Pellistri – 7
Keen to impress and had a shot a few minutes after being introduced, though it was tame. Replaced Antony.
Anthony Martial – 5
Replaced Hojlund but wasn’t any great shakes and struggled to get into a bitty game.
Mason Mount – N/A
Raphael Varane – N/A
Referee: John Brooks – 6
A busy afternoon giving out yellow cards. Accepted the VAR verdict to rule out McTominay’s goal and that was right, even if open to questioning.
