RED DEVILS FAIL FULHAM TEST
A late Iwobi strike halts Manchester United’s winning run in the Premier League.
Manchester United’s four-match winning streak in the Premier League came to a painful end as Fulham clinched a late win against the Red Devils in front of a dejected Old Trafford. The first proper chance fell to United, with Harry Maguire combining with Alejandro Garnacho. Maguire spread the ball to Garnacho on the left side of the Fulham box, and the Argentina international cut in and went for a curler. But Antonee Robinson showed good positional awareness to clear the ball with his head. Later, Diogo Dalot, finding himself with time and space, went for a shot from a distance and came agonisingly close as the ball hit the post and went out of play.
With the match goalless at the break,
Fulham started the second half, making inroads inside the final third.
Fulham’s pressure bore fruit in the 65th minute, as it scored the opening goal of the match from a corner. Timothy Castagne swung a good ball inside the United box from a corner, and Calvin Bassey ran to the near post to meet it. Bassey scuffed his initial volley but made no mistake with his second chance, rifling the ball into the roof of the net for the opener.
It looked like United would head for another drab loss, but it found an equaliser from one of the unlikeliest sources in the 89th minute.
Maguire crossed the ball to Fernandes on the far side, who tried to cut in and lose Castagne. His curled effort was initially saved by Bernd Leno, but the German could not hold on to the ball, spilling it. Maguire, in the right place at the right time, volleyed the ball inside the net, making it 1-1.
But it was Fulham’s Alex Iwobi, who left it late and bagged the winner in the seventh minute of second-half additional time.
Traore made a darting run to the edge of the penalty area before squaring the ball to Iwobi to his left. Once he got the ball, Iwobi maintained his calm to touch it around Dalot and slotted the ball home, finding the bottom left corner. The loss keeps United sixth with 44 points — eight behind fourth-placed Aston Villa.
The I-league title race is heating up, with both Gokulam Kerala and Sreeindi Deccan mounting a serious challenge to the current I-league leader, Mohammedan SC. Gokulam has registered five wins on the bounce since the competition's resumption this year, while Sreenidi has now won four on the trot. The top three, as it stands, are separated by just two points.
The Malabarians have plundered 14 goals in the winning run, with the league top-scorer Alex Sanchez continuing to impress by taking his tally to 15 goals.
Mohammedan, which returned to winning ways with two successive victories, will need to show its mettle in a crucial week, where it will take on both Sreenidi and Gokulam in successive away matches.
It's been a mixed fortnight for fourth-placed
Real Kashmir, which could also come into the title mix, with two contrasting on-field incidents taking the limelight.
Striker Gnohere Krizo scored a stunning goal-of-the-season contender in the win over Churchill Brothers, which was overshadowed by Peter Hartley's accusation that Syrian
Shaher Shaheen allegedly spat at him in the ill-tempered 1-1 draw against Inter Kashi.
“17 years I’ve played professional. Today I was spat into my face by number 16 of @realkashmirfc. I’ve played in India for 4 years. This is not acceptable in our sport and certainly not acceptable in this country. I will be exploiting the options to report this player and he’s [his] football club.
“I can’t believe we are in 2024 and this kind of misconduct is still happening. Very disappointed and feel the player should be punished for he’s actions,” Hartley wrote on X.