With the defeat on Saturday afternoon, Manchester United now see their top four hopes dashed once again. In tatters and facing an uphill battle is the state that Ten Hag’s team were left after a damning loss against the Cottagers, who had not won away from home this season until they came up against United.
Here are the player ratings for Manchester United:
Andre Onana (6/10):
Made two strong saves in the first half from a Rodrigo Muniz header and then late in the half from a curling effort from Andreas Pereira. He was smart enough to tip Harrison Reed’s cross come shot in the second half which unfortunately led to the opening goal.
There was little he could for the second as well and an argument could be made that the scoreline could have been much worse if not for Onana.
Diogo Dalot (3/10):
Played with drive and positivity in the first half with his efforts culminating on a powerful low drive that cracked Bernd Leno’s post.
Unfortunately, his levels took an alarming dip after half time as he offered little going forward and he also lost the ball which led to a Fulham counter that Iwobi was unable to capitalise on.
The Nigerian would not make the same mistake late in the game with his winning goal where Dalot should have done much better to close down the shot.
Raphael Varane (6/10):
Played a solid, if unspectacular, game and was quick to cut across and cover off any of Fulham’s attacks. There was little he could do for either goals.
Read a lot of Fulham’s attacks well to hold up Marco Silva’s men and has quietly been putting together a few solid performances the last few weeks. Desperately requires help though from the rest of his team on the defensive transition.
Harry Maguire (5/10):
It was a very mixed afternoon for Maguire as he was booked for a clumsy challenge on Sasa Lukic in the first half which inevitably came back to haunt him late in the game as he was hesitant to foul Adama Traore in the lead up to Fulham’s second goal.
Committed to a few challenges which resulted in leaving open space behind him for Fulham to attack.
Missed an open header deep into the game but later atoned by pouncing on Bruno Fernandes’ shot to thump home the equaliser. It was also his holdup play that led to his goal.
Victor Lindelof (4/10):
Possibly a harsh rating as he was played outside his normal position but Lindelof’s offensive output was non-existent as he was unable to offer the same possession passing that Luke Shaw would have and was hesitant to provide any overlap runs to assist Garnacho due to his lack of pace in recovering in fear of the ball being lost.
Casemiro (4/10):
Another very unconvincing performance from the Brazilian who is a shadow of the player he was last season. Very poor defensively in his positioning and sloppy in his passing.
Was lucky to not be punished for a careless backheel which almost led to Pereira scoring and was replaced by McTominay after a head clash with Harrison Reed.
Kobbie Mainoo (3/10):
The youngster struggled to get into the game and was unable to make any impact. A steep learning experience for Mainoo and he should hopefully be better for it.
Was part of a United midfield that was penetrated far too many times by Fulham. Replaced late on by Amad Diallo.
Alejandro Garnacho (7/10):
United’s best player by some distance. Played very positively all match and was one of the few players in the red shirt who offered any urgency and drive on the ball.
He was United’s most lively player all game and had a curling effort blocked by Antonee Robinson in the first half.
Far too much was asked of Garnacho as he was subsequently targeted defensively with extra bodies by Marco Silva in the second half. The only United player who could leave the pitch knowing he gave it his all.
Bruno Fernandes (6/10):
Played a very lively game and pressed relentlessly as well. He provided an unusual long ball target for Harry Maguire and Andre Onana but was good enough to beat his defender a few times to head the ball to advantage for United.
It was his late shot that created the chance for Maguire and the United captain ran himself into the ground. Was probably United’s second best attacking threat after Garnacho.
Marcus Rashford (1/10):
A very big stretch could be made for Rashford that his struggles was from him playing as a central striker as opposed to his preferred position on the left. A very big stretch.
Rashford was abysmal and offered nothing for his team on and off the ball. He had one counter attacking opportunity in the second half with teammates streaming forward around him only to be dispossessed of the ball cheaply.
Could be seen jogging on multiple instances while Fernandes and Garnacho ran past him to press the Fulham defence. Damning.
Omari Forson (3/10):
For all the excitement around the opportunity given to another academy product, Forson endured a miserable afternoon and was lucky to not be substituted at half time possibly due to Ten Hag not wanting to hurt his confidence.
Forson’s first involvement was to be dispossessed cheaply in his own half and he never recovered after that. Offered little and his one involvement was his shot which was blocked by his own teammate. Substituted for Christian Eriksen just after half time.
Substitutes
Christian Eriksen (3/10):
One of his first touches was a loose cross field pass which led to a Fulham counter attack. He never got into the game and his place in midfield exposed the team in the middle due to Eriksen’s poor defensive positioning.
Another player who is alarmingly far from who he was last season.
Scott McTominay (2/10):
When McTominay does not score, his contribution to the team is non existent. Today he did not score. Safe to say it is not hard to envisage how McTominay’s game went then.
Amad Diallo (5.5/10):
Through no fault of his own, was given far too little time to impact the game. But Diallo did offer more energy and fight on the right side than Forson which ignited the home crowd with his efforts.
Antony (N/A):
Brought on in the dying seconds. A damning indictment on his place in the team at the moment.