Garnacho's stoppage-time heroics keep Man United firmly in top-four race

LONDON -- Manchester United eked retired a stoppage-time triumph implicit Fulham successful the Premier League connected Sunday, with Alejandro Garnacho scoring successful the 93rd infinitesimal to guarantee the Red Devils near southwest London with each 3 points.

- Stream connected ESPN+: LaLiga, Bundesliga, MLS, much (U.S.)

Christian Eriksen scored his archetypal extremity for United connected 14 minutes, ending a 19-game barren tally since joining the nine arsenic a escaped cause successful the summer. Daniel James netted against his erstwhile nine conscionable aft the hr mark, to resistance Fulham level and respire caller beingness into Craven Cottage, but Garnacho's precocious dramatics sent the location assemblage disappointed.

JUMP TO: Player ratings | Best/worst performers | Postmatch quotes | Key stats | Upcoming fixtures

Rapid reaction

1. Garnacho makes biggest publication yet

There whitethorn beryllium doubts implicit his temperament, but immoderate concerns implicit Garnacho's endowment are receding with astir each appearance.

Manchester United were staring astatine a disappointing effect successful the Premier League's last lucifer earlier the World Cup anterior to Garnacho picking up the shot connected the touchline successful stoppage time, driving into the container and exchanging passes with Eriksen earlier sliding a debased left-foot decorativeness past Bernd Leno. It was a superb move, vaguely reminiscent of Cristiano Ronaldo's victor successful this fixture successful 2007, different hardly deserved 2-1 triumph settled by a infinitesimal of genius from the aforesaid country of the pitch.

Erik Ten Hag has antecedently suggested "it depends connected his attitude" arsenic to however acold this prodigiously talented 18-year-old tin go, but his archetypal Premier League extremity was impervious of a tenacity and hunger that could propel a agelong vocation astatine the highest level. The home interruption has travel astatine the incorrect clip for him: successful November alone, Garnacho scored the victor against Real Sociedad, provided 2 assists successful the Carabao Cup triumph implicit Aston Villa and present this astatine Craven Cottage.

Anthony Elanga whitethorn person started up of him here, but Ten Hag volition find it harder to permission Garnacho retired if helium tin prime up wherever helium near disconnected adjacent month.

2. United permission it precocious again to support gait successful top-four race

What a quality a extremity makes.

After Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool each won earlier successful the weekend, the array could person made for awkward speechmaking had United mislaid further crushed successful the top-four contention astatine Fulham. Garnacho's melodramatic involution was the 5th extremity United person scored successful second-half stoppage clip crossed each competitions and the 2nd successful 4 Premier League games, pursuing connected from Casemiro's last-ditch equaliser astatine Chelsea.

Although they stay successful 5th place, a three-point spread to fourth-placed Spurs with a crippled successful manus volition springiness Ten Hag's midseason reappraisal a overmuch much affirmative borderline than it appeared for agelong spells here, fixed United needed David de Gea to marque a drawstring of good saves successful each fractional to support Fulham astatine bay. Nine wins from 12 matches since losing astatine Manchester City connected Oct. 2 gives United tangible grounds Ten Hag is making a existent impact.

3. Eriksen marks his revival with archetypal United goal

Eriksen has brought poise and quality to Manchester United's midfield since signing connected a escaped transportation from Brentford successful the summer. On Sunday, helium brought an extremity product: his archetypal extremity successful United colours, finishing a slick counterattack that began with Casemiro's fantabulous tackle, continued with Anthony Martial and Bruno Fernandes combining for the Dane to descent successful a elemental decorativeness astatine the acold post. The midfielder's relation successful United's precocious victor should not beryllium underestimated either: 2 one-twos ending with a perfectly weighted through-ball enabled Garnacho to enactment his magic.

Eriksen has made nary concealed of his imagination to correspond Denmark astatine a World Cup aft suffering a cardiac apprehension astatine past year's delayed Euros, and conscionable earlier heading to Qatar, helium created different tiny portion of nationalist history: the 30-year-old became the archetypal Danish subordinate to people for United since Peter Schmeichel versus FC Rotor Volgograd successful September 1995.

Player ratings

Fulham: Bernd Leno 7, Bobby Decordova-Reid 7, Issa Diop 7, Tim Ream 7, Antonee Robinson 7, Tom Cairney 7, Joao Palhinha 8, Harry Wilson 7, Andreas Pereira 6, Willian 7, Carlos Vinicius 6
Subs: Daniel James 7, Josh Onomah 6

Manchester United: David de Gea 8, Tyrell Malacia 5, Victor Lindelof 6, LIsandro Martinez 7, Luke Shaw 6, Casemiro 7, Christian Eriksen 8, Anthony Elanga 6, Bruno Fernandes 6, Marcus Rashford 6, Anthony Martial 5
Subs: Scott McTominay 6, Alejandro Garnacho 8

Best and worst performers

BEST: Joao Palhinha, Fulham. All-action show from the Fulham midfielder, making a match-high 9 tackles (nobody other connected the transportation registered much than three), winning 12 of his 16 duels.

WORST: Tyrell Malacia, Man United. Asked to play arsenic a makeshift right-back owed to Diogo Dalot's lack done suspension but was repeatedly targeted by Fulham and struggled to cope.

After the match: What the players and managers said

Eriksen connected his archetypal Man United goal: "About time! I owed a fewer truthful I'm blessed to beryllium connected the scoresheet successful the past crippled earlier the World Cup. It's been a bully week."

Fernandes connected Garnacho: "He has a batch of endowment and his enactment rate, unneurotic with the talent, makes a large quality with america from the bench. It's not the archetypal clip helium makes a large interaction for us. We are truly blessed for him and cognize helium tin springiness america goals, assists and beryllium the joyousness of football."

Palhinha: "No words tin explicate what maine and my team-mates consciousness successful this moment. We are truly disappointed with the effect due to the fact that I deliberation we deserved to triumph this game. We did our champion and we didn't merit this result. ... Football is similar this, sometimes the champion squad doesn't win."

Key stats (via ESPN Stats & Info)

- Two of Garnacho's 3 vocation goals with Man United person been successful the 90th infinitesimal oregon later.

- Garnacho became the second-youngest Man United subordinate successful Premier League past to people a stoppage-time game-winning goal. Only Federico Macheda (then 17 years, 227 days old) did truthful astatine an earlier age.

Up next

Fulham: The World Cup interruption awaits, and Fulham volition instrumentality to enactment connected Boxing Day, erstwhile they transverse London to instrumentality connected Crystal Palace astatine Selhurst Park.

Manchester United: United person arranged a brace of friendlies during the World Cup break, against Cadiz (Dec. 7) and Real Betis (Dec. 10) earlier resuming competitory play connected Dec. 20 erstwhile they big Burnley successful the Carabao Cup.