Manchester United strolled to victory against an abject Fulham side at Old Trafford.
Ashley Young opened the scoring with a thumping strike from the edge of the box which ended up in the top corner of Sergio Rico’s goal. United took control of the match and doubled their lead 15 minutes later when Marcus Rashford showed excellent vision to pick out Juan Mata on the edge of the box who neatly put the ball into the back of the net. Romelu Lukaku sent United into the halftime break in high spirits when he scored a tap-in from the six-yard area.
Fulham did well to stifle United in the second half and pulled one back in the 67th minute when Aboubakar Kamara scored a dubiously awarded penalty. The Cottagers comeback hopes were short-lived though as they were soon down to ten men.
André Zambo Anguissa picked up his second yellow card of the day mere minutes after Kamara scored and headed to the dressing room for an early shower. Rashford put the icing on the cake in the 82nd minute when he rifled the ball past Rico from the edge of the 18-yard box. A thorough and deserved victory for United against a poor Fulham side.
United Get Their First Win a Month
Mourinho guided United to their first win in the league since they beat Bournemouth over a month ago.
While United dominated proceedings, there were times when they lacked urgency especially in the middle of the field where Nemanja Matic continues to look slow and ponderous in possession. A comfortable victory over the team at the bottom of the table should be routine for this side but today was still a good result after some awful performances recently.
Ranieri Has His Work Cut Out For Him
Fulham spent big in the summer bringing in the likes of Jean Michaël Seri, André Schürrle and Anguissa but have failed to put in the performances necessary to survive the league. Ranieri has inspired better performances in recent weeks and results against Southampton and Leicester were much welcomed but his side looked lifeless in the first half today.
Players like Schürrle and Seri are simply not performing while the defence is continuing to ship goals at an alarming rate. Shoring up their leaky back four must be top of Ranieri’s to-do list if Fulham are to avoid relegation this season.
Juan Mata: A Quiet, Intelligent Leader
Mata was a delight in the middle of the park and today’s fixture was an excellent example of the diminutive Spaniard’s intelligence and superb positional sense. He could be seen popping up in a number of central position between the middle of the park and the forward line and is increasingly looking like a quiet leader for the more inexperienced players in the squad.
Mata hit three impressive career milestones today scoring his 50th Premier League goal and registering his 50th Premier League assist on his 150th appearance for United. A well-rounded performance from United’s conductor.
A Dramatic Two Minutes
The referee will want to forget today after he made two awful decisions within two minutes of each other. Fulham were awarded a penalty after Ander Herrera was judged to have fouled Kamara inside the area but replays showed that Herrera actually made contact with the ball before bringing the player down. Just two minutes later, Anguissa somehow picked up a second yellow card after a bizarre coming-together with Rashford. Two very poor decisions that could have been avoided if VAR was in use.
Rashford Excels
The young Englishman was sublime today after some questionable performances in recent weeks. He looked lively and dangerous form the beginning but also demonstrated a composure which has been lacking from his game. Rashford’s performance today was capped by two assists and a stunning goal which should give him the confidence to fulfil his potential going forward.