Afghanistan
Angola
Argentina
Asia (AFC)
Asian Games
Australia
Belgium-Netherlands
Brazil
Burkina Faso
Central American & Caribbean Games
Central American Games
Congo DR
Denmark
England
Europe (UEFA)
FYR Macedonia
Finland
Germany
Greece
International Tournaments
Italy
Mediterranean Games
Mexico
National
Nepal
North & Central America (Concacaf)
Palestine
Pan American Games
Panama
Russia
Scandinavia
Serbia And Montenegro
South American Games
Spain
Syria
USA
Venezuela
World (FIFA)
Yemen
Zimbabwe

Manchester United stunned as Fulham's Alex Iwobi nets stoppage-time winner

sportsmole.co.uk, 24 February 2024, 17:01
Manchester United's four-game winning run in the Premier League has come to an end after they suffered a 2-1 defeat to Fulham at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.

After a goalless first half, Calvin Bassey scored his first goal for the Cottagers midway through the second half, before Harry Maguire seemed to have rescued a point for the Red Devils with a close-range finish in the 89th minute.

However, more drama unfolded in stoppage time as Fulham burst down the other end to score a dramatic 97th-minute winner when Alex Iwobi nestled his strike into the bottom corner.

Man United's perfect run of results in February is now over and defeat for Erik ten Hag's side comes as a huge blow regarding their top-four hopes, as they remain sixth and have slipped eight points behind fourth-placed Aton Villa, who beat Nottingham Forest 4-2 on home soil.

As for Fulham, they celebrated their first win at Old Trafford since 2003 and have ended their 11-game winless run on the road, although they remain 12th in the Premier League table, three points behind the top 10.

Both teams made a cagey start to the contest, but it was Fulham who initially looked the livelier of the two sides in possession, quickly moving the ball through the lines, and former Red Devils man Andreas Pereira tried his luck with the visitors' first attempt on goal just three minutes in, one that was comfortably saved by Andre Onana.

Iwobi was then presented with two decent chances within the space of four minutes, but the Cottagers midfielder dragged both his efforts from the edge of the penalty area wide of Onana's right-hand post.

Just after the 20-minute mark, Man United's No.24 made a crucial one-handed save to keep out a glancing header from Fulham's Rodrigo Muniz following a corner, before Sasa Lukic failed to bundle home the rebound from close range.

The Red Devils had their fair share of possession but they were unable to create any clear-cut chances until a mix-up in the Fulham defence occurred in the 26th minute when defending a set-piece, allowing Alejandro Garnacho to pounce and curl a shot from inside the area.

However, Antonee Robinson got back well to head the ball off the line, before Maguire, who stated forward, hooked the rebound over the crossbar.

Both teams were then denied by the woodwork shortly after the half-hour mark; Diogo Dalot firstly saw a long-range strike clip the base of Bernd Leno's right-hand post, before Muniz at the other end used his strength to turn Lindelof inside the area before smacking the outside of the post with a ferocious strike.

The closely-fought contest became stretched as the first half came to a close; Onana made a fine save at full stretch to keep out a curling strike from Pereira after Lukic caught Casemiro in possession on the counter-attack. Leno then produced an almost carbon copy stop at the other end after launching himself into a one-handed save to keep out Garnacho's curler heading for the bottom corner.

Moments after the restart, a nasty clash heads during an aerial duel between Casemiro and Harrison Reed forced the medical teams of both clubs to enter the field; while the latter was deemed fit to continue, the former was replaced by Scott McTominay - Christian Eriksen was also introduced for the hosts at the expense of Forson, who looked lively in spells on his first senior start.

The first big chance of the second half fell to Fulham in the 56th minute, when Muniz dispossessed Eriksen on the halfway line and drove forward before teeing up Robinson, who opted against shooting from a tight angle and played a dangerous delivery across the six-yard box, begging to be tapped home, but Wilson was unable to meet cross.

United struggled to get a foothold of the match and groans reverberated around Old Trafford as Fulham capitalised on the hosts' sloppiness in possession to take control of proceedings - Marco Silva's side just lacked an end product in the final third.

Onana had to be alert to stretch and tip Reed's mis-placed cross from the right flank over the crossbar, but from the resulting corner, the ball fell kindly to Bassey, who smash a shot with his weaker right foot into the roof of the net to put Fulham into a deserved lead on the 65-minute mark.

Man United responded well as Fernandes weaved his way into a shotting position on the edge of the box, but his strike was comfortably collected by Leno to his left, before the Fulham shot-stopper got fingertips to Rashford's inviting delivery from an acute angle on the left wing.

Although Silva switched to a back following the introduction of Issa Diop, Fulham showed no initial signs of parking the bus and they continued to look a threat on the counter-attack; Wilson thought he had double the visitors' advantage in the 77th-minute, but his left-footed strike curled just inches wide.

Moments later, Man United missed arguably their best chance of the match when Maguire towered above the Fulham backline to mee Eriksen's corner, but he could only thump his header over the crossbar from just a few yards out.

However, Maguire made amends in the 89th minute and Old Trafford erupted when the defender slotted home a first-time finish from inside the six-yard box to restore parity after Leno could only parry Fernandes's shot straight to the Red Devils No.5.

It was suddenly backs against the wall for Fulham as Man United pushed for a winner in the nine minutes of added-on time, but out of nowhere they managed to burst free through substitute Adama Traore, who sprinted past a couple of players on the right before picking out Iwobi, who took a touch to set his shot which nestled into the bottom corner, sending the Fulham fans into pandemonium.

Fulham will look to build on their victory at Old Trafford when they play host to Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday, while Man United shift their focus to an FA Cup fifth-round tie against Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Wednesday.

Top News

23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk West Ham United manager Julen Lopetegui is facing a couple of critical decisions for Monday's Premier League fixture with Newcastle United at St James' Park. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Enzo Maresca has made several surprise inclusions in his Chelsea XI for Saturday's Premier League fixture at Leicester City. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe will be unable to call upon Dan Burn for Monday's Premier League clash with West Ham United at St James' Park. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Hoping to win three straight Premier League games for the first time in over 12 months, Newcastle United host a troubled West Ham United at St James' Park in Monday's Premier League offering. 23 November 2024 talksport.com Brentford may have managed to seamlessly replace Ivan Toney with Bryan Mbeumo, but this might not be a long-term solution. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea are reportedly facing an anxious wait to determine the severity of Reece James' latest hamstring injury. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester United and Arsenal have reportedly been handed a boost in the race to sign Brighton & Hove Albion forward Evan Ferguson. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Bayern Munich forward Harry Kane set a new Bundesliga record on Friday, eclipsing a feat previous held by Erling Haaland in the process. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Both stuck inside Serie A's drop zone and facing a season-long scrap for survival, Venezia and Lecce will meet at Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo on Monday evening. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Trailing their visitors by one point in the Serie A standings, Empoli will attempt to leapfrog Udinese with a win at Stadio Castellani on Monday evening. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk With all eyes fixed on the January transfer market, clubs around the UK and Europe are already lining up potential mid-season moves. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Eyupspor vs. Caykur Rizespor (Saturday, 10.30am) Eyupspor and Caykur Rizespor will kick off round 13 of the Turkish Super Lig when they go head-to-head at Recep Tayyip Erdogan Stadium on Saturday. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Go Ahead Eagles vs. Almere City (Saturday, 3.30pm) Two teams who could really do with a victory kick off round 13 of the 2024-25 Eredivisie season as Go Ahead Eagles welcome Almere City to De Adelaarshorst on Saturday afternoon. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Valencia vs. Betis (Saturday, 1.00pm) Valencia will play their first game since the devastating DANA storm struck the region when they welcome Real Betis to Mestalla for Saturday's La Liga contest. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Hellas Verona vs. Inter Milan (Saturday, 2.00pm) One of six sides within two points of the Serie A summit, reigning champions Inter Milan continue their title defence on Saturday, when they visit Hellas Verona. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk B. Leverkusen vs. Heidenheim (Saturday, 2.30pm) Xabi Alonso will hope that his Bayer Leverkusen side can return to winning ways when they welcome strugglers Heidenheim to BayArena in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign on Saturday. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Lens vs. Marseille (Saturday, 4.00pm) Saturday evening will see Lens welcome Marseille to the Stade Bollaert-Delelis in one of the standout games in Ligue 1 this weekend. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Rangers vs. Dundee Utd (Saturday, 3.00pm) Rangers, aiming to build consistent form after a challenging start to the season, host Dundee United at Ibrox Stadium on Saturday in the Scottish Premiership. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Moreirense and Porto return to action in the fourth round of the Taca de Portugal when they go head to head at the Parque de Jogos Comendador Joaquim de Almeida Freitas on Sunday. 23 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Manchester City have supposedly shortlisted Sporting Lisbon and Uruguay wide man Maxi Araujo as a possible signing for 2025 to address their issues on the left-hand side. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Looking for what would be a first league win since September, Sparta Rotterdam and AZ Alkmaar will do battle at the Sparta Stadion Het Kasteel on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In-form sides NEC and FC Utrecht will be looking to keep their momentum going when they face off against each other at the Goffertstadion on Sunday afternoon. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Fulham boss Marco Silva has revealed that Harrison Reed will have to undergo surgery to resolve a knee issue. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Arsenal have reportedly identified RB Leipzig defender Castello Lukeba as a possible successor to William Saliba if the latter is lured to Real Madrid. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Chelsea have supposedly earmarked Ipswich Town frontman Liam Delap as a possible transfer target for the summer of 2025. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Liverpool will not take risks by using players who are not necessarily at full fitness against Southampton such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Reds expert David Lynch has claimed. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk In a match that could affect both the relegation battle and the race for European football, Borussia Monchengladbach are set to welcome St Pauli to Borussia-Park on Sunday in their 11th Bundesliga game of the campaign. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Harry Kane continued his fine form this season to inspire Bayern Munich to victory on Friday night. 22 November 2024 sportsmole.co.uk Holstein Kiel will hope to use their home crowd at Holstein-Stadion to spur them to victory against Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday, as they continue their quest for survival. 22 November 2024 talksport.com Football fans will forever cherish the intense jubilation that comes with their team scoring a late winning goal.