ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

Fulham 0

Manchester United 3

LONDON • Fulham were the perfect opponents for a team hoping not to expend unnecessary energy before facing Paris Saint-Germain.

Manchester United did not have to be at their dashing best yesterday to continue their resurgence under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, but they still could have scored a hatful as they regained a spot in the top four of the Premier League for the first time since the opening weekend of the season.

They settled for a 3-0 win in the end and Solskjaer was able to keep Marcus Rashford and Jesse Lingard on the bench before United welcome PSG to Old Trafford for the first leg of their last-16 Champions League tie on Tuesday night.

A brace from Paul Pogba and a sensational solo goal from Anthony Martial were enough for the Premier League's form side, who have picked up 25 points from nine games since replacing Jose Mourinho with Solskjaer in December.

Pogba later fired a warning to the chasing pack that they intend "to stay there", adding: "It feels great. That's what we wanted, since Ole came, the top four.

"We have big games coming up, so it won't be easy. But we put in a good performance as a team.

"When we need three points, we get the three points. But these big games coming up will determine where we end up. I feel great, the team feels good."

While United's supporters revelled in watching the legendary figure in the dugout mastermind another victory, Fulham's fans booed Claudio Ranieri down the tunnel after the final whistle.

The odds are against the team with the worst defensive record in the division, with 58 goals conceded, pulling off a miraculous escape given that they are seven points adrift of 17th place with 12 games remaining.

Craven Cottage, normally such a genteel place to watch a game of football, was an angry place with fans aiming chants of "You don't know what you're doing" at a manager who appears to have run out of ideas after three months in the job.

Curiously, it was the wind, which made the ball move weirdly in the air, and not their opponents that took United a while to get used to.

But it was not long before Pogba decided it was time to take charge in the middle of the park. The France midfielder's authority on the ball settled his teammates and it soon became clear United had a plan to get Martial running at Denis Odoi.

Pogba has been involved in 13 league goals under Solskjaer, scoring eight and creating five, and he eased United ahead with a powerful strike in the 14th minute.

In the 23rd minute, Martial produced a moment of magic in keeping with United's scintillating counter-attacking traditions. The forward started his run just inside his own half as he ignored Odoi's attempts to bring him down, shimmied past Maxime Le Marchand and opened up his body to curl a lovely shot into the far corner.

They added another when strong work from Romelu Lukaku led to Le Marchand bringing down Juan Mata just inside the box.

Pogba dispatched his penalty with aplomb and United spent the final 25 minutes keeping their powder dry for PSG.

Solskjaer said that while there was a chance his tinkering could have backfired, his footballing philosophy was "if you don't risk, you don't win".

The Norwegian said: "I have to trust the players, I didn't feel there was a problem playing any of them."

THE GUARDIAN