Matheus Cunha rescued Manchester United with a late equaliser against Fulham, but the Red Devils still matched their worst Premier League start after five games.
Cunha rescues Manchester United but worst start record matched
Matheus Cunha rescued Manchester United from another damaging defeat with an 89th-minute equaliser against Fulham, but the late goal could not disguise what has been a deeply disappointing opening to the Premier League season for Michael Carrick side. United ended the fifth round with only five points, matching the club worst record at this stage of a Premier League campaign, previously set under Louis van Gaal in 2014/15. The Brazilian strike at least prevented a third successive major setback in a matter of days, but the overall picture remains troubling for a team that entered the season expecting to show clear progress and instead finds itself sitting only 12th in the table.
The result came at the end of another difficult afternoon in which Fulham looked much more comfortable for long periods and repeatedly threatened to extend their advantage. Belgian goalkeeper Senne Lammens was one of the main reasons United remained in the contest, making several important saves after the visitors had gone ahead. Without his interventions, Cunha late goal may have been little more than a consolation. Instead, the forward gave Old Trafford something to celebrate in the closing moments and ensured that United avoided leaving the pitch empty-handed.
United stumble again after difficult week
The draw continued a worrying sequence for Carrick. United had already lost 1-0 at home to Manchester City, a particularly frustrating result because they spent much of the match with an extra player but were still unable to take advantage. That was followed by elimination from the League Cup against Brighton, who won 3-2 at Old Trafford. Fulham therefore arrived at a moment when United badly needed a convincing response, both in terms of the result and the quality of the performance.
Instead, the hosts again struggled to impose themselves. Bruno Fernandes captained the side and Diogo Dalot was also restored to the starting line-up, but the presence of experienced players did not immediately provide the control United were looking for. Fulham were able to play with confidence, move the ball through midfield and create enough situations to test Lammens repeatedly. The Belgian goalkeeper became increasingly important as the game progressed, with United unable to establish sustained pressure at the other end.
The context makes the five-point total especially uncomfortable. Matching the poor start from the 2014/15 season gives the early campaign a historical reference Carrick would certainly prefer to avoid. Five matches is still a relatively small sample in a long league season, but the concern comes not only from the points total. United have already suffered a derby defeat, exited a domestic cup and needed a late goal to avoid losing at home to a Fulham side that had not won a league match this season before arriving at Old Trafford.
Fulham take control through Martinez
The visitors were rewarded in the 63rd minute when Lisandro Martinez put Fulham ahead. The Argentine goal appeared to place Alvaro Arbeloa on course for his first victory since taking charge of the London club, and for much of the second half it looked as though it would be enough. Fulham had shown greater confidence and had created the better openings, while United were again dependent on individual interventions rather than a sustained collective response.
After taking the lead, Fulham had chances to score again and effectively settle the game. Lammens prevented that from happening on several occasions, keeping United within one goal and giving the hosts the possibility of producing a late reaction. Those saves ultimately proved decisive, because the match remained alive until Cunha found the equaliser in the 89th minute.
The Brazilian goal was one of the few genuinely positive moments United could take from the afternoon. Cunha showed the composure required in a high-pressure situation and delivered at the point where defeat seemed increasingly inevitable. His intervention ensured the Red Devils collected a point rather than suffering another home loss, but the celebration was inevitably restrained by the wider context of the performance and the league table.
Cunha saves a point but not the concerns
Cunha late strike changed the result but not the assessment of United start to the season. Five points from five matches leaves Carrick side well behind where they expected to be, and the team has yet to produce the kind of consistency that would suggest a rapid climb up the table is guaranteed. The draw with Fulham also continued a pattern of matches in which United have found it difficult to control key phases, even when playing at Old Trafford.
The issue is made more striking by the fact that United were not simply unlucky. Against City, they had the numerical advantage for a significant period but failed to translate it into goals. Against Brighton, defensive problems contributed to their League Cup elimination. Against Fulham, the visitors were able to create enough chances that Lammens emerged as one of the home side most important players. Carrick therefore has several areas to address rather than one isolated problem.
For Bruno Fernandes and the other senior figures, the coming weeks will place even greater emphasis on leadership. The captain remains central to the team, but United need more than individual moments if they are to move away from the lower half and rebuild momentum. Dalot return to the starting line-up also gave Carrick another experienced option, yet the team as a whole still lacked the authority required to turn possession into prolonged pressure.
Fulham left frustrated after late equaliser
Fulham will leave Manchester with mixed emotions. On one hand, a point at Old Trafford is valuable, particularly for a team that has had a difficult start under Arbeloa. On the other, the visitors were only minutes away from securing their first league victory of the season and had produced enough opportunities to feel they should have taken all three points.
Martinez goal had appeared to provide the breakthrough Arbeloa was waiting for, and Fulham had the chances to build on it. The failure to convert those opportunities became more costly with every save from Lammens, and Cunha eventually punished them. For a side still searching for its first win, conceding so late will be particularly difficult to accept.
Even so, the draw did at least have one consequence in the lower part of the table. Fulham moved level with Tottenham on two points but remained above Spurs because of their superior goal record, pushing the north London club to the bottom of the Premier League. It is hardly the position Arbeloa will want to focus on, but the fact that Fulham avoided defeat and showed enough attacking quality to trouble United may provide some encouragement ahead of the next round.
Pressure continues to build around Carrick
For Manchester United, there is less room for comfort. The club are 12th, have matched their worst Premier League start through five rounds and have already been eliminated from one domestic cup competition. The late equaliser stopped the situation from becoming even more severe, but it did not erase the questions surrounding Carrick team.
What United need now is a sequence of results rather than isolated recoveries. Cunha goal demonstrated that there is still enough individual quality to change matches late, while Lammens performance showed he can make decisive contributions when the team is under pressure. But relying on those moments is unlikely to be enough if United want to climb quickly.
The immediate challenge for Carrick is therefore to turn the point against Fulham into a starting point rather than another warning sign. The Red Devils avoided defeat, but the statistics remain uncomfortable and the performances have not yet matched expectations. After five league rounds, the team has already reached a historical low point in terms of its points return. The next phase of the season will show whether that statistic becomes merely an early anomaly or the beginning of a much more serious problem.
