Emile Smith Rowe cancels out Leny Yoro header in Craven Cottage stalemate
Fulham's Emile Smith Rowe (second left) celebrates scoring the equaliser
Manchester United have thrown the kitchen sink at revamping Ruben Amorim’s squad but the same issues reared their ugly heads in a score draw at Fulham.
An inability to take chances, a shakiness between the sticks and a weakness in the middle of the park are proving hard to shake off.
Just ask Bruno Fernandes, who skied his first-half penalty and left it to the teenage defender, Leny Yoro, to head in United’s only goal of the game.
Just ask Altay Bayindir, who once again looked as though a mild breeze would get the better of him every time Fulham sent a corner kick his way - and there were plenty.
And just ask Fernandes’ midfield partner, Casemiro, who failed to establish himself in a battle with Fulham’s engine room and was hooked long before the hour mark.
This should have been a safe haven for United to justify the unusual air of optimism around the club, considering their opening-weekend defeat to Arsenal.
United haven’t lost at Craven Cottage since the Sir Alex Ferguson days and their last three away league victories in London have all come at Fulham’s expense.
But the result, and United’s shortcomings in three problems departments which are becoming deep-rooted under Amorim, will raise fresh questions about whether the Red Devils really are heading in the right direction.
That’s not to say there weren’t moments of joy for the visitors.
There were only 77 seconds between kick-off and Matheus Cunha receiving the ball, turning and drilling a powerful shot inches over the bar from outside the box. And within 60 seconds of that, the Brazilian ran onto Mason Mount’s lay-off, opened his body up and hit the base of the post with Bernd Leno beaten.
Two games into his big move, Cunha has taken on the role of co-ordinating United’s faltering attack, and he was sizzling in the first quarter of an hour.
Running onto Bayindir’s 70-yard pass, he shrugged off Joachim Andersen and brought the ball down in an instant before being denied an exceptional goal by the onrushing Leno.
Marco Silva is a savvy manager who is plenty familiar with Amorim. Their playing careers in Portugal overlapped by eight years, and he knows how to play the opponent.
Fulham duly adjusted midway through the first period and began pushing United back. Alex Iwobi tested Bayindir with an accurate volley from the edge of the area and they were consistently dangerous from set-pieces - partly due to Bayindir’s nervousness and how it permeated through the United side.
The wind was taken out of Fulham’s sails in the 34th minute, however, when Calvin Bassey was penalised for manhandling Mount inside the penalty area and referee Chris Kavanagh pointed to the spot.
Finally, a breakthrough for United. Or not. After a long break in play, Fernandes stepped up and skied his fifth Premier League penalty miss into the stands - no player has fluffed more since the Portuguese’s debut.
United have broken the bank on proven Premier League talent this summer but two titanic contributions from a teenage newbie briefly put them in control after the break.
Yoro is only a year into his Premier League career but he had the look of a seasoned veteran as he thwarted a Fulham attack with a heroic last-ditch challenge on Josh King four minutes before heading in the opener, with a little help from Rodrigo Muniz.
That should have been job done, even if it meant shutting up shop and protecting their lead. But Emile Smith Rowe had other ideas.
Two minutes after rising from the bench, the former Arsenal playmaker was on hand to punish Diogo Dalot for losing possession and Matthijs de Ligt for failing to stop Iwobi’s cross by turning in from close range.
Leno 7; Tete 6, Andersen 5, Bassey 5, Sessegnon 8 (Robinson 62, 6); Lukic 6, Berge 6; Castagne 6 (Wilson 62, 6), King 7 (Smith Rowe 71), Iwobi 7; Muniz 6 (Jimenez 71).
Bayindir 5; Yoro 8 (Heaven 87), De Ligt 6, Shaw 6 (Maguire 87); Diallo 6 (Dalot 52, 6), Casemiro 4 (Sesko 52, 6), Fernandes 5, Dorgu 6; Mbeumo 5, Mount 7 (Ugarte 69, 6); Cunha 8
Chris Kavanagh 6.
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