29 shots, one late goal: Manchester United draw 1-1 at Fulham

Late equaliser earns Manchester United a point

Fulham and Manchester United drew 1-1 at Craven Cottage in the Premier League on Sunday. The result leaves both sides without a win in the match, with Fulham’s 63rd-minute own goal cancelled out by Matheus Cunha’s late strike for Manchester United.

Own goal gives Fulham the lead

The first major turning point arrived in the 63rd minute, when Lisandro Martínez was recorded as scoring an own goal for Fulham. That gave the home side the advantage after a match in which Manchester United created more attacking volume but had not converted it into a goal.

Fulham made a series of changes after taking the lead. Oscar Bobb and Alex Iwobi were replaced by Kevin Santos Lopes de Macedo and Cesar Palacios Perez in the 71st minute, while Sander Berge made way for Hugo Larsson six minutes later. Gonzalo García and Josh King then departed in the 80th minute, with Rodrigo Muniz and Joachim Andersen entering.

Cunha strikes in the closing stages

Manchester United responded in the 77th minute by sending Joshua Zirkzee on for Marcus Rashford. The equaliser arrived in the 89th minute: Matheus Cunha scored a normal goal from Patrick Dorgu’s assist. The late finish preserved a point for the visitors and completed the scoring.

Cunha was the match’s highest-rated player, receiving an 8.2 rating after 90 minutes. He also registered two shots on target and three key passes, numbers that reflected his influence in United’s late recovery. S. Lammens made six saves for United, while B. Leno recorded five for Fulham.

United controlled the ball but Fulham resisted

The statistics pointed to Manchester United having the greater share of the game. They held 57% possession, completed 527 accurate passes from 588, and attempted 29 shots. Fulham had 43% possession, 394 accurate passes from 448, and 12 shots. United also won 13 corners to Fulham’s three.

The shot count did not produce a winning scoreline, however. Both teams managed six shots on goal, while Fulham made five goalkeeper saves and United made six. United’s 17 shots inside the box compared with Fulham’s 11, but the visitors needed the late equaliser to avoid defeat.

Points added to contrasting starts

Fulham entered the fixture ranked 20th with one point from four matches, while Manchester United were 13th with four points from four. The draw adds one point to each total, taking Fulham to two points and United to five. Fulham’s recent sequence becomes three defeats followed by two draws, while United’s is loss, win, draw, loss, draw.

Fulham received three yellow cards: Josh King in the 45th minute, Timothy Castagne in the 50th and Rodrigo Muniz in the 85th. Manchester United received none, and there were no red cards.