Aleksandar Mitrovic missed a penalty as Manchester United produced one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Fulham was on track to record its highest-ever Premier League point total thanks to Kenny Tete’s early header, but David De Gea’s stop of Aleksandar Mitrovic’s penalty caused the tide to change. Jadon Sancho and Bruno Fernandes’ goals made a difference. Erik Ten Hag’s team’s third-place finish in the Premier League standings was ensured by the three points, and United still has the opportunity to add a second title of the year if they can defeat Manchester City in the FA Cup final. Fulham will be more than happy with 10th place.
The slow start that allowed Fulham take the lead was indicative of the fact that the stakes have never been higher at this stadium. Tete nodded the ball past De Gea at the near post after Willian swung in a corner from the left and escaped Marcus Rashford’s attention. Soon after, Casemiro tripped Tom Cairney inside the box, and the referee directed to the spot, giving Silva’s team the chance to increase their advantage. Mitrovic moved to De Gea’s left and took a stride forward, but the shot was well stopped and at a fair height.
Before the interval, United punished Fulham for their wastefulness. Sancho was able to score past Bernd Leno, who had been caught off guard, by converting on the ricochet after Fred sprinted with the ball purposefully inside the area. The second United goal was also made possible by Fred, whose vision saw an opening to pass the ball to Fernandes, who did the rest by eluding the custodian and putting his team in the lead for his eighth Premier League goal of the year.
With standing ovations for Casemiro, Rashford, and Fernandes among others, Ten Hag pulled his players late in the game. Although Fulham made an effort, the equalizer eluded them. Their fruitful campaign is done. At Wembley, United still have room to grow.
“In the news conference that followed, the Dutchman said, “We understand that we are moving in the right way, but we are not yet where we want to be. Although there is still a long way to go, this squad and its players both have promise. We have demonstrated during the season that we have advanced. That is a complement to both the coaches and the players,” Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag said. “The club is aware that making investments is necessary if you want to play in the top four and fight for trophies in this competitive league. Otherwise, other teams will advance ahead of you. It was winter when we saw it. Every club around made an investment. We didn’t, yet we still succeeded. I am thus quite pleased and proud of my staff.”
“We had an opportunity to increase the score to 2-0, inspire more confidence, and make things more challenging for them, but we missed. The time was then. They score a fortuitous goal to tie it up. We did not deserve the outcome, in my opinion, but against Manchester United, it was business as usual,” Fulham boss Marco Silva said. “However, the season has been fantastic. We were told right away that we were expected to lose. We come in at the top of the standings. How we achieved it is more significant than where we place in the standings. I was pleased that we maintained our concept, manner, and method of doing things. We can’t remain still. This would be the first error if someone believed it was acceptable. Not only on the pitch, but also off it, we need to get better. Nothing can remain motionless. We must demonstrate our desire and dedication to do more.”
While Fulham has now lost 19 of its past 22 road league games against Manchester United, the two teams have split their previous 17 meetings in all competitions. Only Manchester City (52) accumulated more points at home in the Premier League than United (48), and United only allowed 10 goals to be scored at Old Trafford, four fewer than any other side in the league. For the first time since 2011–12, Manchester United has won all six of its games against newly promoted opponents in a single Premier League season.
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