Manchester United’s defender Lisandro Martinez has named ONE Man United’s teammate who was better than him despite scoring the winning goal against Fulham.
Lisandro Martínez’s deflected strike in the second half proved to be the difference as Manchester United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage, marking only their second away win in the Premier League since September.
The match itself lacked quality, with both sides struggling to create clear-cut chances. United, in particular, offered little in attack but showed resilience in defense to hold off a Fulham team that has impressed many this season. The win extended United’s unbeaten league run at Craven Cottage, a streak that has remained intact since December 2009.
For much of the game, it seemed as if United were content with a draw, as Fulham posed the greater attacking threat in the first half. However, despite the pressure, goalkeeper André Onana was rarely troubled, with Fulham managing an expected goals tally of just 0.2.
United’s attacking struggles were evident, as they registered their first shot close to the 42-minute mark when Matthijs de Ligt directed a tame effort towards goal, which Bernd Leno handled comfortably. By halftime, United had managed just one attempt, their lowest in a league match since failing to record a single shot against Liverpool in April of the previous year.
The visitors showed some improvement after the break, enjoying more possession and coming close when Bruno Fernandes’ well-placed free-kick found the side-netting. By the 60th minute, United’s share of possession had risen to 65.4% in the second half, an improvement from their 50% in the first.
Despite dominating the ball, neither side managed to penetrate the opposition’s penalty area until after the 70th minute, highlighting the lack of cutting edge in the final third.
The breakthrough eventually came in a fortunate manner when the ball landed at Martínez’s feet, and his 25-yard shot took a significant deflection off Sasa Lukic, looping over Leno into the net. The goal marked Martínez’s third Premier League goal contribution under Ruben Amorim, with only Bruno Fernandes and Amad Diallo recording more.
Fulham came close to equalizing in the closing moments, but Toby Collyer’s crucial clearance off the line denied Joachim Andersen’s goal-bound header, preserving United’s lead and securing a vital win.
Amad thought he had doubled the lead late in the game, but his goal was ruled out for offside. Despite the narrow margin, the result was enough to earn United a rare and much-needed away victory.
