Bruno Fernandes’ late EPL winner against Fulham ‘a building block’ for struggling Manchester United

LONDON – Scott McTominay said Manchester United’s last-gasp win at Fulham on Saturday is “a building block” in what has been a difficult season.

United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a stoppage-time winner to ease the mounting pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

Fernandes told the BBC: “With the goal you could see the belief of everyone, fighting for that ball. Everyone was fighting and at the end I could get the shot for the goal and the three points...

“It was massively important for us to get the three points today. We need to get points to start building something, we have to start somewhere.”

The Red Devils looked set to drop points for the sixth time in their opening 11 Premier League games after another performance lacking in invention at Craven Cottage.

But Fernandes’ strike from outside the box had just too much power for Bernd Leno in the 91st minute.

It offered some relief to his manager, with the victory lifting United up to seventh and within five points of the top four.

McTominay told TNT Sports: “We can’t get carried away, but when things are going against you, sometimes you have to come together and fight like dogs.

“It’s a building block and I think we did more than enough to win the game in the end...

“It’s step by step, with the manager and the coaching staff, we trust them a lot. We trust the players and I feel like we can go on, kick on and do better.

“You have to pick each other up when things aren’t going well. You need confidence, some need to feel like they’re loved, others need a rocket sometimes.”

Ten Hag had earlier labelled Marcus Rashford’s decision to attend a birthday party at a nightclub after the previous weekend’s 3-0 derby defeat by Manchester City as “unacceptable”. However, the coach insisted that Rashford’s absence from the match-day squad was due to injury rather than any disciplinary action.

United needed a bright start after a week to forget. They also lost 3-0 at home to Newcastle on Wednesday to end their hold on the League Cup.

The visitors did have the ball in the net after just seven minutes.

McTominay has been the most reliable source of goals in recent weeks for ten Hag as his forwards misfire. The Scotland midfielder turned in Alejandro Garnacho’s ball.

However, Harry Maguire had tried to play the ball from an offside position before it reached Garnacho. The strike was ruled out by a video assistant referee review that lasted four minutes.

Thereafter, United’s blunt attack rarely seriously threatened the Fulham goal.

Antony was hooked by ten Hag after another woeful performance by the £87 million (S$146 million) winger on the hour mark and Rasmus Hojlund’s wait for a first Premier League goal goes on.

Fulham have also struggled to find the net since the departure of Aleksandar Mitrovic to the Saudi Pro League.

Marco Silva’s men have scored just nine times in their opening 11 games and were to rue not making more of a dominant spell early in the second half.

The Portuguese told TNT Sports: “Frustration in our dressing room. Very good second half from ourselves. First half was more balanced. Second half we had very good spells and had 20-25 minutes where we controlled the game.

“It is not unlucky, it is keeping emotional control on the pitch. Three or four players making mistakes is difficult to understand for us. We have to grow as a team.

“It is clear emotional control we lost in that moment.”

Andre Onana was forced to parry powerful efforts by Harry Wilson and Joao Palhinha, while Willian dragged another good opening just wide.

United looked destined for their first draw since April until Fulham shot themselves in the foot in stoppage time.

Palhinha twice failed to clear and the ball eventually broke to his Portuguese international teammate.

Fernandes has been one of the main targets for criticism in a disastrous start to the campaign.

But he provided a moment of inspiration when United needed it most, as he calmly cut onto his right foot and fired into the bottom corner despite Leno getting a hand to his effort.

The defeat leaves Fulham in 14th place, seven points above the relegation zone. AFP