‘We have to fight’ – Cavani sends message to Man Utd team-mates ahead of Fulham test

Edinson Cavani has warned that Manchester United can’t allow complacency to creep in against Fulham and says they must “fight” to hold on to their healthy position in the Premier League table.

United reached the top-flight summit post-New Year for the first time since Sir Alex Ferguson’s departure back in 2013 when they beat Burnley 1-0 at Turf Moor on January 12.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side have bounced back from a slow start to the campaign to emerge as genuine title contenders, with the latest test of their credentials seeing them come up against Fulham on Wednesday night.

The Red Devils have picked up victories in nine of their last 12 fixtures, but suffered a small setback at the weekend as they were held to a 0-0 draw by reigning champions Liverpool at Anfield.

The 13-time Premier League winners will be expected to get back to winning ways at Craven Cottage and move back into first place ahead of Leicester City, who have played one game more after beating Chelsea 2-0 on Tuesday.

However, Cavani is expecting another tough examination against a Fulham side fighting for survival and says he and his team-mates cannot afford to let their standards slip after all their hard work over the past few months. 

“I believe that one of the most important things that we need to be aware of, whenever we go into any game, is that we are Manchester United, and, irrespective of whether we are top of the league or in any other position, every other team that plays against Manchester United try to do their absolute best to try and beat them,” the Uruguayan forward told United’s official website.

“It was also a similar situation for me when I was at PSG. Teams try to do the impossible to get a victory against one of the most legendary and best teams in the world.

“So ensuring we are focused and concentrated on this, should give us the energy to want to fight for this badge.

“And, right now, that we are top of the league, to also want to fight to stay right where we are. For all that, we need to be ready and mentally prepared to compete.

“Like I always say, the important thing isn’t just winning a couple of games, it’s having that consistency of always competing; competing in every game and for every ball, and concentrating to the absolute maximum for every situation that comes up in the game.

“And that’s what, in the end, allows you to achieve your ultimate goal.”

Cavani added: “As I was saying before, Fulham will know very well that they have Manchester United coming up next, and they’ll be going all out to try and beat us, like they have done in the past and just like what we’ve seen with other teams like Burnley, who always give their utmost.

“So we need to be aware that it’s going to be a tough game and that we have to be 100 per cent focused, in order to take care of all the details so we can try to win the game in order to remain in the league position that we currently occupy.”

When asked to assess his contribution to United’s attack, Cavani responded: “The work starts from the pressing and closing down you do in attack, in order to try to prevent the ball from getting too close to our own area and creating dangerous situations near our goal.

“I think it’s a job that the whole team does together as a unit, and I also believe that it’s something we need to do even more of, in order to be able to keep competing hard until the end of the season.”