Manchester United, under manager Michael Carrick, survived Fulham’s fightback and won three consecutive games to move into the top four.
Fulham substitute Kevin equalized in stoppage time with a super strike from Raul Jimenez’s late penalty, but in another classic under the new manager, Sesco scored as Carrick dramatically equaled Ruben Amorim’s record for longest Premier League winning streak with Man United.
After impressive defeats against Arsenal and Manchester City, Carrick’s United passed another test with their fair share of refereeing controversy.
The first incident occurred during the build-up to Man United’s opening game, with Matheus Cunha being adjudged to have been brought down by Jorge Cuenca, resulting in an initial penalty being awarded. However, after a VAR check, the decision was overturned and Cuenca clearly won the ball, but the home team were instead awarded a free kick for having their shirts pulled, which infuriated Marco Silva.
From the resulting free kick, Casemiro headed in Bruno Fernandes’ goal for his fifth goal of the season. The midfielder is enjoying a farewell tour after announcing his departure at the end of the season.
Cunha, who returned to the starting XI as the only change in the squad in place of the injured Patrick Dorgue, struck in the second half to double Man United’s advantage.
Fulham thought they had pulled a point when Cuenca smashed in a deflected Samuel Chukwueze shot that fell gently into Cuenca’s path. However, after a VAR check that lasted about four minutes, the goal was ruled out for a slight offside.
But Kevin’s superb equalizer looked to have saved Marco Silva’s side a point after Jimenez converted a penalty after being brought down by Harry Maguire inside the area.
However, Sesco, who was set up by Fernandes, had a different idea and scored his fifth goal of the season. A revived Man United are currently five points behind third place in the Premier League. Fulham have fallen to 8th place.
Silva leaves after being dissatisfied with referee’s ‘terrible’ call
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Manchester United take an early lead against Fulham with Casemiro’s header
Fulham manager Marco Silva expressed his dissatisfaction with Man United’s opening goal after the match, suggesting that he had been given different communication on the touchline regarding the decision.
Silva told Sky Sports: “The match started with a horrible, horrible call and penalty from John Brooks.
“It was a big, big mistake. It was the first time in the Premier League that the referee gave a penalty for a tackle and the free kick was awarded as a result of VAR.
“The communication I got on the touchline was that there was a penalty given for the tackle and then they gave another foul.
“The call was so bad that another foul was found, like a pull.”
Carrick: I had to answer a lot of questions.
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Gary Neville reflects on Manchester United’s dramatic late win over Fulham at Old Trafford
Manchester United manager Michael Carrick was delighted to see his team pass another test, with question marks still lingering despite winning his first two games since returning as head coach.
“It’s a special place and we do special things,” Carrick said of Old Trafford in an interview with Sky Sports.
“And credit to the players. We knew it was going to be a really tough game today. We’ve been getting questions all week about breaking down low blocks and beating the teams we need to beat, but that wasn’t the case today.”
“Fulham are a really good team and we knew there would be a lot of questions to answer.
“Credit to the players for the late goal last week, we conceded but then we went back to win. Especially today it was even harder to take it away and it was probably to find a winner for Benji.”
“I’m really happy for him (Sesco) and he deserves it.
“This is a big moment for all of us, but he especially deserves it. He’s been great since I’ve been here, and he’ll remember that feeling for a long time.”
