Player ratings: Fulham 1-2 Manchester United
Written by George Rossiter on 14th November 2022
George Rossiter rates the Fulham performances for the final time before the World Cup break.
Fulham will head into the extended international break on the back of consecutive heart-breaking results at the hands of the Manchester clubs. Despite having the better of the game, the Whites fell to defeat after a last minute winner from Alejandro Garnacho.
Bernd Leno
Similarly to last week, Leno had to be on top form to keep Fulham in the game. While we attacked well and had much possession in the Man United half, they looked dangerous on the counter and Leno was on hand to keep the whites in it. Just like Haaland’s penalty, he’ll be gutted he couldn’t quite get down well to Garnacho’s effort. 7.5/10
Bobby De-Cordova Reid
Defensively, Bobby’s positioning seemed to have improved well, not being caught out as much as the last man in the backline. Unlike normal, he didn’t quite have the same impetus in Fulham’s attacks and unfortunately he let Garnacho get into the box far too easily for the winning goal. 6.5/10
Issa Diop
Embed from Getty ImagesDiop was extremely unlucky to see the ball deflect off his boot into the path of Christian Eriksen for the United opener, but beyond that was typically dominant in the air and confident bringing the ball out of the defence. 7/10
Tim Ream
Once again, Ream’s proactive approach to defending in the Premier League looked quality in the tackle and on the ball. He and Diop, as well as Tosin, have all put in some admirable performances this year, yet the goals continue to go into our net, something Marco will have to work on in the break. 7/10
Antonee Robinson
Another solid display from Jedi who didn’t struggle at all against the attacking options offered up down the right hand side of Man United. Consistently combined well with Willian in attacking play against an out of position Malacia. 7/10
Joao Palhinha
Palhinha has mastered the art of the slide tackle and should have it named after him, the Qatar-bound Portuguese midfielder made by far the most tackles of anyone on the pitch and played the role of two holding midfielders in the absence of Harrison Reed. He is simply unbelievable. 9/10 – Man of the match
Tom Cairney
On a first start of the season, Cairney showed his worth as a Premier League player to Marco Silva. The captain consistently helped to control the tempo in midfield and helped drop deep when needed. One potential criticism is how he was too slow on the ball when dispossessed by Casemiro for the first goal. 7/10
Andreas Pereira
Looked brilliant on the ball in the first half, attempting to create from all over the midfield in a game where he had to cover more ground in Reed’s absence. Had less of an impact as the game opened up and Fulham favoured the pace of James in the final half an hour. 7/10
Harry Wilson
Another improved performance from Wilson who played his final 60 minutes before heading to Qatar to represent Wales. Looked somewhat back to his normal-self, cutting inside on the edge of the box on multiple occasions and linking up well with the midfield. Hopefully he’s back to his best come Boxing Day. 6.5/10
Willian
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Brazilian had lots of joy against a right-hand defensive side of Victor Lindelof and the inverted full-back of Tyrell Malacia. Consistently combined well with Robinson and had a number of chances both to shoot from the edge of the area and to pull back for Fulham’s other forward players. 7.5/10
Carlos Vinicius
Comfortably Vinicius’s best performance in a Fulham shirt, especially from the start. Finally we got to see the forward spending the majority of the game further up the pitch, frequently showing both good hold-up play and was hugely unlucky not to score on the turn, forcing a good close range save from De Gea. I think he’ll come good as Mitrovic’s back-up. 6.5/10
Substitutes
Daniel James (59’ for Harry Wilson)
A really positive cameo, consistently running clear of United defenders with his blistering pace, and the added bonus of the equalising goal, opening his account for the club. 7/10
Josh Onomah (90+2’ for Tom Cairney)
A second cameo of the season for Onomah from the bench. 6/10