Lisandro Martinez’s deflected second-half strike proved enough as Manchester United beat Fulham with their only shot on target at Craven Cottage.
In a game of hardly any chances, United took the lead on 78 minutes and but had Toby Collyer to thank for keeping the game level when he headed Joachim Andersen’s header off the line. With co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe also watching on, Amad Diallo had a second United goal ruled out for offside in stoppage time.
It is only the second time Manchester United have avoided conceding under Ruben Amorim and the first time since beating Everton 4-0 on December 1, with the result leaving his side 12th in the Premier League table.
Here The Athletic’s Carl Anka breaks down the key talking points.
Is Martinez scoring part of Amorim’s plan?
Martinez’s goal may have owned a small debt to Lukic’s positioning and he called it “lucky” but it underlined his growing influence in the opposition’s penalty area since Amorim’s arrival.
The centre-back’s long pass to Amad earned United a hard-fought victory in the Manchester derby in mid-December, and he opened the scoring against Liverpool in an exhausting draw at Anfield. His goal against Fulham followed his late assist for Fernandes against Rangers in the Europa League.
Where has this miniature purple-patched arrived from? His deployment as the left centre-back of a three allows him greater freedom to venture forward and arrive late in moves as a spare attacker. It is not to the same level as Josko Gvardiol’s box-crashing for Manchester City, but Martinez’s movement around the box is promising.
On multiple occasions he targeted the space between Calvin Bassey and Antonee Robinson while they were pre-occupied with United’s more obvious attacking threats.
Martinez strikes the ball authoritatively, and if the chance isn’t on, he remains one of the better defenders at spotting a good pass that can open up a defence. His increased attacking output has not come at the expense of his defensive application; the “grinta” and well-timed tackles are just as important to any United result as his shots and through balls.
Why is Hojlund struggling?
Rasmus Hojlund is listed as 1.91 m (6 ft 3 in) in height on the Premier League’s website. During his years at Atalanta, he was said to have run 100m in a little under 11 seconds. He has been recorded running at 35.45km/h, making him the fastest player at United last season (he just about edges out Diogo Dalot for straight-line speed).
This preamble is to make clear that Hojlund is supposed to be one of the biggest, strongest and fastest strikers in the Premier League. Yet the 21-year-old spent his appearance at Craven Cottage looking more rookie than apex predator, his apparent physical gifts again nullified by a resolute Fulham defence that kept him at arm’s length.
Commentator Darren Fletcher described Hojlund as a “fascinating player” on TNT Sports partway through the opening 45 minutes. A diplomatic description of a striker most dangerous when running into space who was having to grapple with centre-backs for long balls.
Fulham’s centre-back partnership of Calvin Bassey (1.85 m/6 ft 1 in tall) and Joachim Andersen (1.92 m/ 6 ft 4 tall) were unbothered, with Hojlund being replaced by Joshua Zirkzee on 58 minutes.
There is a question of how United properly service Hojlund (or indeed any striker), but such is Hojlund’s form, he risks squandering what little chances he gets before they have time to gestate. His 17 touches in the first half were the lowest of any United player, but one would hope a striker of his speed would find ways to be a threat through off-ball movement. A great striker in good form can find ways to turn a half-chance into a goal. A bouncy first touch — coupled with United’s prosaic build-up — mean Hojlund would regard a half-chance as a treat.
How did United play?
“Why doesn’t this team score more goals?” is a question that will follow United for the remainder of the season.
Your mileage on answers may vary. There are those who will focus on the lack of killer instinct in their “project strikers” of Hojlund and Zirkzee. There will be those who key in on a lack of progressive passing from midfielders outside of Fernandes.
Some will point on the team’s current options at wing-back. Diogo Dalot and Noussair Mazraoui give everything, but neither man excels at carrying the ball and crossing from wide areas. United’s lack of running power meant Fulham could force the away team into playing in a slow (and sloppy) horseshoe, circulating the ball around the back three and the wing-backs before attacks eventually fizzled out. When United did attempt to pass into central areas, the likes of Sander Berge and Sasa Lukic could boss, bully and recycle possession.
According to Opta, United had to wait until 41:57 for their first shot in this game, their joint longest wait for an attempt on goal in a Premier League match this season, which, curiously, was also 41:57 vs Arsenal in December.
This game was drifting until Martinez’s shot deflected off Lukic and in the right-hand corner in the 78th.
Amorim wants to add attacking wing backs with United attempting to sign Patrick Dorgu from Lecce but they also need more players who can progress the ball through passing and ball carries.
What did Ruben Amorim say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Manchester United?
Thursday, January 30: FCSB (A), Europa League, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
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(Photo: Clive Rose/Getty Images)
