Bruno Fernandes eases pressure on Erik ten Hag with last-gasp heroics for Manchester United at Fulham

Manchester United captain Bruno Fernandes scored a stoppage-time winner at Fulham to ease pressure on manager Erik ten Hag.

The Red Devils looked set for another inquest after an underwhelming performance, before Fernandes sealed a priceless 1-0 win in the dying moments.

2

United’s captain showed up when they needed him mostCredit: Getty

Fernandes was gifted possession by Cottagers star Joao Palhinha, created a yard of space and found the bottom corner from the edge of the box in the first minute of injury time.

It sparked jubilant scenes among the players, in the dugout and from the away supporters – who had unfurled a banner telling the team to ‘play like you mean it’.

talkSPORT understands Ten Hag was not under any immediate threat of losing his job, but there will be questions over his long-term future at the club if their dreadful start to the season continues.

After eight defeats in United’s first 15 matches, Fernandes’ goal gets the Dutchman out of a very uncomfortable spot for now.

Speaking on talkSPORT, former Premier League striker Dean Ashton said: “United were not at their best, it was not a great performance, but it wont really matter.

“The amount of pressure on that game, you could see it from Ten Hag’s reaction, it could be absolutely huge for them.”

Besides a controversially-disallowed goal for Scott McTominay in the first-half, United barely troubled their opponents and Fulham had multiple opportunities to break the deadlock in the second-half.

Questions will remain after yet another clunky display under Ten Hag but midfielder McTominay hopes the Red Devils can build from here.

2

He said: “We saw the banner before the game and a few of us said, do you know what, the fans pay good money to come and watch every week and the support is relentless towards us every single week and we just want to repay them as best as we can.

“Things aren’t going the best at the moment but it’s a building block. We can go and kick on and do better.”