It will take more than this to bring the joy back
Sight of thousands of empty seats at Old Trafford speaks volumes, proving that despite a dominant victory...
THERE were moments, as Manchester United took apart a desperately weak Fulham rearguard, when this place was transported to better, brighter days. They’d been singing the ‘10 Cantonas’ song and each of the three goals which sealed things early were in keeping with a time when the club stood on the cusp of greatness.
But the crisp, clinical first-time finishes of Juan Mata and Romelu Lukaku did not send electricity through the place. The goals, which helped take United sixth, only temporarily lifted the stadium from a muffled silence. There were as many as 5,000 empty seats — mainly season ticket holders — and a late-Wenger era Emirates feel about the place. There is a listlessness: an unmistakable sense that United, 16 points behind next week’s opponents Liverpool, are adrift and must rebuild under new management to bring the joy back.
The quality revealed that there is greater collective talent at his disposal than Jose Mourinho often cares to talk about. The anniversary of Ashley Young’s last goal for the club passed a week ago. He offered echoes of the winger’s talent which encouraged Alex Ferguson to sign him, in the way that he jinked beyond Denis Odoi, nutmegging the Belgian defender to curl the ball right-footed high into Fulham’s net.
Portuguese wingback Diogo Dalot impressed, leading Mourinho to suggest last night that he could fill that position for United for a decade. The one-touch interplay, with Mata at its apex, was sublime at times. But it was Marcus Rashford who provided the greatest sense of what United hold, if only they could realise it and build some confidence. The Englishman’s performance was not perfect. There were misplaced passes. But the 20-yard shot which wrapped up the win revealed that capacity for the unexpected which makes him such a special player. There was a vulnerability in the way he said, in an interview for the match programme, that ‘I’m nowhere near the top of my game.’ Given some nurturing and coaching, he could be a player for the ages at this club.
It was the desperately weak Fulham right flank which allowed him to locate some much needed self-belief. The same flank from which all three first half goals were scored. Lukaku — another symbol of the struggle for confidence which has beset this club — unlocked the second, sending Rashford into space behind the defence, from where he spotted Mata and cut back the pass which the Spaniard struck in first time.
Rashford had brought out the sharpest of goalkeeper Sergio Rico’s reactions, with an instinctive, swerving 25-yard effort, before the outcome was put beyond all doubt. Lukaku struck home his first goal since March from Mata’s lay-back after Jesse Lingard had sent the diminutive midfielder him into space. It was becoming a humiliation by then, though Mourinho, in need of this succour, punched the air and slapped the hands of his coaching staff.
The man to whom Fulham have turned, Claudio Ranieri, needs a lot more than succour. It was the defensive weaknesses of the side which saw Slavisa Jokanovic sacked, and though Ranieri seemed to have bolstered the structure and steadied the ship, this performance made you fear for them.
Odoi was utterly out of his depth and there was a fundamental failing to pick up United’s players as they drove forward. The lack of intensity was shocking in a club playing only its fourth league game for this manager. The loss through injury of Calum Chambers, who has impressed on loan from Arse-
nal, was felt — though he would not have made a substantial difference. ‘The first half was only Man United. We didn’t realise what happened. It was a warm up for us,’ said Ranieri.
‘You’re nothing special,’ sang the Fulham supporters. ‘We lose every week.’ The Italian admitted last night that his team would be relegated if they played as they did in the first half.
United maintained their momentum after the break — Lukaku shooting wide after Rashford had terrorised Odoi and Ander Herrera doing the same after Rico had cleared a ball straight to United’s front line.
They then managed to concede. Herrera’s tackle on Aboubakar Kamara, who replaced an isolated and ineffective Aleksandar Mitrovic at half-time, was untidy and took the forward down. Kamara stepped up and put the penalty kick to David De Gea’s left.
Any hope of recovery was gone when Fulham were harshly reduced to 10 men by Lee Probert, who dismissed Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for a challenge on Rashford. He’d already been booked for a first half challenge on Lingard. ‘Anguissa, my player, touched the ball only and the referee gave a second yellow card. It changed the match,’ complained Ranieri.
The clock was ticking down when Rashford lit up the stadium — a jinking run at Odoi, who had given him a yard too much space, and a curled shot from the edge of the box which Rico pushed into his net. Rashford was mobbed, wore a smile as wide as the River Irwell and only then did Old Trafford ignite into life.
It was Mourinho’s 50th win as United manager, though even that number requires perspective, taking him 92 games to achieve, compared with 63 games in the heady days of his first Chelsea spell. Anfield, next Sunday, will provide a more genuine test of this team.