Fulham 1 Manchester United 2
Manchester United beat Fulham 2-1 in our last game before the World Cup break, thanks to a dramatic goal at the death courtesy of Alejandro Garnacho.
The Reds looked destined to draw 1-1 away with the London club, but our Argentinian youngster snatched all three points with virtually the last kick of the game.
Christian Eriksen opened the scoring in the 14th minute, before former Reds attacker Daniel James levelled it on the hour mark.
But a wonderfully worked one-two between Eriksen and Garnacho, three minutes into injury time, saw the latter slot beyond Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno and win a close contest for Erik ten Hag's men.
The home side started quickly out of the gates and almost put the Reds behind, with Carlos Vinicius having the first effort on goal. The ball was played into him by Willian, but his effort was saved by David De Gea.
It took 10 minutes for the Reds to really get into the game, and in our first attack, Anthony Martial forced Bernd Leno to make a great save. Luke Shaw's fantastic pass down the left, matched with Rashford's equally brilliant run, saw the latter hold the ball up before laying it off into the path of Martial. The Frenchman's effort was tipped wide by the Fulham shot-stopper.
Much to the delight of our travelling fans, only a few more minutes passed before we broke the deadlock.
The Reds called on De Gea a handful of times throughout the first half to keep the home side at bay, and the highlight was when he denied Harry Wilson from close range, preventing an almost certain equaliser.
Just before the break, United created two clear-cut chances that could have seen Ten Hag’s men head down the tunnel with an even greater advantage. Martial headed just over from Shaw's whipped cross, and just moments later Eriksen was very nearly at the double but his shot fizzed narrowly wide.
Fulham came out for the second half gunning for an equaliser, and De Gea was forced to deny them twice in relatively quick succession.
Our Spaniard between the posts denied Vinicius once again, before Martinez helped it out for a corner. Swung in by former Reds midfielder Andreas Pereira, the delivery was met by a towering Tim Ream and De Gea superbly saved his header at point-blank range to keep the Reds ahead.
Approaching the hour mark, both managers opted for a change with United bringing on Scott McTominay for Anthony Elanga, while Fulham replaced Harry Wilson with former Reds forward James. And minutes after his introduction, James equalised for the London club. The Welshman made a good run between our central defenders, subsequently finding himself in a position to slot home Tom Cairney's ball across the box.
As Marco Silva's side began to take control of the game, the welcomed introduction of United youngster Alejandro Garnacho spurred life into our attack and just as it looked like the game was headed for a draw, the Argentinian came up at the death for Ten Hag's side.
A one-two with Eriksen saw Garnacho's burst of pace beat the Fulham defenders to the pass, and he took his strike first time, squeezing the ball beyond Leno to snatch all three points ahead of the World Cup break and trigger scenes of delirium on the pitch and among the vocal away fans. The result means United have closed the gap on fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur to just three points with a game in hand, until the Premier League resumes on 26 and 27 December.
MATCH DETAILS
Fulham: Leno; Reid, Diop, Ream, Robinson; Cairney (c), Palhinha; Willian, Pereira, Wilson (James 59); Vinicius.
Substitutes: Rodak, Adarabioyo, Duffy, Chalobah, Onomah, Mbabu, Harris, Sekularac.
Goals: James 61.
Bookings: Reid 33.
United: De Gea; Malacia, Lindelof, Martinez, Shaw; Casemiro, Eriksen; Elanga (McTominay 55), Fernandes (c), Rashford; Martial (Garnacho 72).
Substitues: Bishop, Dubravka, Maguire, Fred, Van de Beek, Iqbal.
Goals: Eriksen 14, Garnacho 90.
Bookings: Garnacho 90.
SOCIAL REACTION
WINNING GOAL!!🔥🔥🔥@premierleague
— Alejandro Garnacho (@agarnacho7) November 13, 2022
See you after the break😉@ManUtd pic.twitter.com/78SOXoZ3U4
Best feeling before the break. See you all soon Reds ❤️ pic.twitter.com/mnm78h0OpP
— David de Gea (@D_DeGea) November 13, 2022
Good feeling and great win before the break ! This team spirit means we are always pushing.
— Bruno Fernandes (@B_Fernandes8) November 13, 2022
See you soon in old Trafford 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/nV7iSkGspc
What a way to finish before the world cup break! Nothing like a last-minute winner @agarnacho7 🔥
— Marcus Rashford (@MarcusRashford) November 13, 2022