Cunha’s late strike rescues a point for Manchester United at Fulham
Matheus Cunha scored in the closing stages to deny Fulham victory and earn Manchester United a point during their Premier League visit to Fulham on 20 September 2026.
Michael Carrick arrived at Craven Cottage under pressure after last Sunday’s derby defeat by Manchester City and a midweek Carabao Cup exit to Brighton at Old Trafford, following earlier wobble from the opening-weekend loss at Hull; Lisandro Martínez’s own goal gave Fulham hope of their first Premier League win under Alvaro Arbeloa. United have typically fared well in this part of south-west London in recent seasons, so the prospect of a defeat was unsettling for Carrick and his players.
Cunha’s equaliser arrived with little time remaining when, from the edge of the area to the left of centre, he struck for the near corner; the Fulham goalkeeper, Bernd Leno, seemed to have it covered before an almighty deflection off David Affengruber redirected the ball into the opposite corner. The deflection prevented what would have been a Fulham victory and allowed United to escape with a point.
After Martínez’s horror own goal had initially put Fulham in front, Fulham dropped deeper and offered limited options to break out, while United struggled to fashion clear openings. Carrick’s side lacked the penetration required in the second half, their patterns becoming predictable and their meaningful efforts largely coming from distance until Cunha’s late intervention.
Arbeloa set up Fulham with Sander Berge and Shea Charles providing central midfield security and Alex Iwobi deployed on the left wing, while Carrick welcomed back Luke Shaw and, with Benjamin Sesko absent through injury, again used Cunha as a false nine with Bruno Fernandes instructed to play close to him. United operated a box midfield with Youri Tielemans and Kabbie Mainoo sitting deeper.
Fulham’s wide players, Oscar Bobb and Iwobi, were encouraged to come inside at times and Josh King, the No 10, was a central figure; King was described as “close” to an England call-up on Friday by Thomas Tuchel and he worked Senne Lammens in the 32nd minute during a first half in which Fulham were the more urgent and creative team. Gonzalo García twice failed to finish from good positions, Berge extended Lammens on the second phase of one move, Bobb skewed a shot wide, and King was booked for simulation after an incident with Harry Maguire on the stroke of half-time.
United threatened at intervals — they hit the woodwork twice in the first half, Cunha wriggled free on the right to pull back for Fernandes who flicked against the far post, and Marcus Rashford lifted a good chance over — but the own-goal sequence compounded their problems. The move began when Cunha lost possession and was out-muscled by Calvin Bassey, whose run to the edge produced a shot that Lammens parried awkwardly; Martínez, facing his own goal, jabbed the ball and Lammens, perhaps thinking it was a back pass, failed to clear with his feet, producing a catastrophic turnover that handed Fulham the lead.
Despite the late equaliser, the fault-lines remain deep.