Manchester United escaped with a 1-1 Premier League draw against Fulham at Craven Cottage on Saturday after Matheus Cunha scored an 89th-minute equaliser to cancel out a Lisandro Martinez own goal.
Michael Carrick's side remained winless in their last two matches and reached just five points from their opening five league fixtures, marking the club's lowest points tally at this stage of a season since 2014-15, when they eventually finished fourth with 70 points.
Fulham had dominated long periods of the match, taking the lead in the 63rd minute when Martinez turned the ball into his own net. United recorded 29 shots and hit the post twice during the match, but required Cunha's late strike to rescue a point.
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno earned man of the match honors after making five saves to deny the visitors. Daily Mail columnist Oliver Holt reported that United were outplayed for long periods of the match but escaped with a draw after a stroke of luck in the dying minutes.
Mounting scrutiny on Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Carrick
The result comes amid mounting scrutiny over Manchester United's leadership following a disappointing start to the campaign. Oliver Holt argued that co-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe must shoulder the blame for the club's worsening crisis rather than Carrick.
Holt noted that when Ratcliffe publicly discussed things being "on the slide" the previous week, the comment inevitably applied to the football club he part-owns. He added that Ratcliffe might as well have stood next to a door with an exit sign above it.
Pundit criticism of Manchester United work ethic
Official match statistics revealed that Fulham ran six kilometres more than Manchester United during the contest. Former United defender Ashley Young condemned the team's work ethic on Sky Sports, calling the performance unacceptable and noting that Carrick would not accept it despite United creating chances they failed to finish.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville tore into United's performance, labeling their display a disgrace. "I've never seen a Manchester United team walk as much as that. Michael needs to stop defending them," Neville said. "Both teams were the same. They were absolutely mannequins. I've never seen a Manchester United team walk around for 15 minutes like that. No alertness, just walking. Fulham had 46 passes in the first couple of minutes of the game to get a chance."
Neville added: "I wish he could play the attacking players, but they'll kill him defensively. You've got five or six players who are better with the ball than without the ball. There needs to be a reset in terms of structure. They don't want to do the ugly part of the game. I rarely say teams don't make an effort because that's the ultimate criticism. That first 15 minutes of the second half, and generally the first 60 minutes, United were an absolute disgrace."
Carrick defended his team's performance on Sky Sports, insisting United deserved to win and created enough opportunities. "We should have won the game, we created enough. We had a lot of good play. The goal that we did concede is one of them goals," Carrick said. "The boys could've thought it was one of those days and that it went against us, but I really liked the reaction. We nearly won it at the end."
Carrick highlighted Leno's performance, noting: "Their goalkeeper, the saves that he's made, he's made three top saves, arguably man of the match. That tells you how much we worked him. We hit the post twice and had a lot of opportunities. There's things to take from it."
When asked if United were passive during a 15-minute spell without a shot in the second half, Carrick rejected the claim. "That doesn't mean we were passive. It's the Premier League, you're going to have spells where you don't have it all your own way," Carrick said. Asked if he was happy with the energy levels, he replied: "Yeah," before adding: "We can take a lot and learn a lot from today. We need to be better and we will be."
United goalscorer Cunha also voiced frustration despite securing the late equaliser. "So frustrated for us. I feel like in the begining we put the plan in, created some chances, didn't score, unlucky. They scored in one action that's hard to explain, a lot of luck," Cunha told Sky Sports. "We came back and I'm frustrated. After the goal, we played with a lot of courage and character and enthusiasm. This needs to be from the start. We always play better after conceding a goal. It cannot be like this. We need to improve in every single position."
Premier League standings and Arbeloa reaction
The 1-1 draw leaves both Manchester United and Fulham struggling in the lower half of the Premier League table. Meanwhile, Tottenham Hotspur sit bottom of the table for the first time since January 2009.
Fulham manager Alvaro Arbeloa expressed deep frustration after the match, accusing the referee of favoring Manchester United before the equaliser. "We were so close and a little bit unlucky again," Arbeloa told Sky Sports. "We knew what happened last week and we can see what the referee was doing in all the matches. All the fouls for them, and before they score, the foul from Maguire, a guy that is 100 kilos. They don't like to let Manchester United lose here."
Arbeloa added: "I prefer to focus on what we did well, how we worked and defended well, and had chances that we couldn't score. They had their chances also. We were so close to our first victory that we are a little bit upset now." Leno backed his manager, stating: "The team is alive and fighting and running. You can see the structure and organisation of how we play. That's a positive. The manager with a new philosophy, wins will come."
Fulham enter the international break in 19th place, winless and having thrown away five points from winning positions so far this season. The team has faced a tough opening schedule with fixtures against Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United in their first five games.
Saturday matchday results round-up
In Saturday's other Premier League fixtures, Manchester City defeated Sunderland 5-3 in an eight-goal thriller at Etihad Stadium. Nicolas Fernandez opened the scoring for City in the 10th minute before Brian Brobbey equalised for Sunderland in the 12th minute. Rayan Cherki restored City's lead in the 29th minute, but Brobbey struck again in the 34th minute to make it 2-2 at half-time. Antoine Semenyo put City 3-2 ahead in the 43rd minute and added a second in the 57th minute. Brobbey completed his hat-trick in the 59th minute to bring Sunderland to 4-3, before Erling Haaland sealed victory in the 82nd minute.
Liverpool secured a 0-1 victory away at Bournemouth thanks to a 58th-minute goal from Alexander Isak after a goalless first half. Cody Gakpo and Bradley Barcola started together in attack for Liverpool for the first time, while Andoni Iraola returned to his former club. Elsewhere, Leeds United and Crystal Palace played out a goalless 0-0 draw after being level at half-time.
