United View: Another worrying defeat against Fulham

Manchester United’s unbeaten run in 2024 ended after a 2-1 defeat on Saturday.

It was the first win at Old Trafford since 2003 thanks to Alex Iwobi’s 97th-minute winner, which leaves the Reds cut further adrift from Champions League qualification.

Erik ten Hag was dealt a big blow when he announced in his pre-match press conference that Rasmus Hojlund would be missing for several weeks after picking up an injury in training. The Dane had been in excellent form and caused yet another reshuffle for the manager.

Fulham looked dangerous from very early in the match, attacking in numbers as United backpedalled. The gaps between the defence and midfield offered too much space for Marco Silva’s side to exploit, a frustrating trait that has plagued United since the opening game of the season.

But it was a corner that resulted in the opener for Calvin Bassey, another characteristic of Manchester United this campaign. Failing to deal with a set-piece that ultimately led to a goal.

Despite a late Harry Maguire equaliser and a late resurgence, Fulham finally made United pay for their abundance of space in their defence. Adama Traore knocked the ball past Maguire, who already on a yellow card couldn’t afford to make a foul and subsequently the ball fell to Iwobi who ended another wearisome afternoon at Old Trafford.

This was United’s tenth loss of the season and following Aston Villa’s win, left the Reds eight points away from 4th place. The win at Villa Park felt like it could be the turning point but after this defeat, it feels like United are back at square one.

In his post-match press conference, ten Hag said “You have to see the bigger picture. And the bigger picture looks very good.” He also suggests that when he has players back from injury there will be more balance and the squad will strengthen in the transfer window.

On the one hand, he is correct in his assessment of injuries, as throughout the whole campaign United have been unfortunate that their key players have been unavailable, making it difficult to play similarly to last year.

However, his persistence to play in the same style of football despite not having the likes of Lisandro Martinez and Luke Shaw fit has led to chaotic performances. He’s not one to change from his principles either, given he is a student of Pep Guardiola from his time at Bayern.

Whilst it’s admirable to stick to his footballing beliefs had the club sold a central defender to bring in another ball-playing centre half to help in build-up then perhaps these issues wouldn’t be as glaring. But he isn’t immune from criticism for not adapting to the limitations of his squad.

United have conceded 100 shots on goal in their last five matches, seemingly ignoring any control and trying to go toe-to-toe with their opponents, which has yielded good results but also made every game end-to-end.

At the time of writing, United’s FA Cup tie away to Forrest has yet to be played, but they cannot expect to go to the Etihad on Sunday and let Manchester City have such freedom, otherwise, it could be another hammering.

This comes days after Sir Jim Ratcliffe gave his first interview as co-owner saying he wanted to knock Liverpool and Manchester City and Liverpool off their perch. Right now, the levels between those clubs and United are widely apart, but whether the restructuring can bridge that gap is unforeseen.

United’s season could be defined in the next week and whilst the squad is being stretched to its limits, there has to be an improvement. Champions League qualification might be a longshot, but the Reds can’t go out without a fight.