Lisandro Martinez was the hero as Manchester United defeated Fulham 1-0 in the Premier League on Sunday night. The Argentine scored out of nowhere to decide a low-quality affair, while youngster Toby Collyer also impressed from the bench.
Ruben Amorim made five changes to his side from the midweek win over Rangers, with Andre Onana selected in goal and Rasmus Hojlund replacing Joshua Zirkzee in attack. Fulham started well and sent an early warning shot when Alex Iwobi fired a low effort at goal, while Matthijs de Ligt and Lisandro Martinez both made important blocks in their box.
The hosts dominated the first-half encounter but rarely troubled Onana despite their dominance. There was even less goal threat from Amorim's side who did not muster a single effort on target in the first half until the 42nd minute.
United were still quiet after the restart and it wasn't long before Joshua Zirkzee and Leny Yoro were introduced in an attempt to liven up the appearance and it gave them a greater presence in the match. It always felt like a moment of individual brilliance would be required to make the difference and it came out of nowhere when an ambitious effort from Lisandro Martinez took a deflection to give his side the lead.
Fulham pushed for a late equaliser and almost got one only for substitute Collyer to clear a header off the line in the dying minutes of the match to ensure his side held on for a precious three points. They almost had a second deep into stoppage time only for Amad Diallo’s effort to be ruled out for offside.
Here is how we rated the United players in the win:
9. Noussair Mazraoui - 5
A low-quality performance but he improved as an offensive threat as it went on and showed his versatility. | Getty Images
10. Amad Diallo - 6
A quieter attacking performance compared with his efforts in recent weeks. He still kept possession well and covered a lot of ground. Could easily have had a goal late on. | Getty Images
11. Alejandro Garnacho - 7
A bright spark from the left wing and played with a purpose. United's most threatening forward but also the one they might need to sell this month to fund any business. | Getty Images
12. Rasmus Hojlund - 4
Struggled to hold the ball up and was disjointed from the rest of the team. No complaints when he was replaced. | Getty Images