Manchester United hit the woodwork twice at Fulham as the Premier League sides traded 26 attempts at goal during the first half of their encounter at Craven Cottage on Sunday.
Bruno Fernandes reacted quickly inside the box to skim a shot against a post from Matheus Cunha’s cut-back cross, with the forward following suit soon afterwards when his effort from distance was deflected against the frame of Bernd Leno’s goal.
“If United stepped it up, there’d be goals,” former Red Devils captain Gary Neville told Sky Sports, calling the near-miss “agonising” for Bruno Fernandes.
“It came at him quickly. Why Cunha played it to him that hard, I’m not sure. But what a chance.”
Bruno Fernandes hits the post! 😬 pic.twitter.com/jMzn8ZyoYa
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) September 20, 2026
Fulham vs Man United: Defence ‘not moving’
No top-flight match on record with statisticians had involved so many attempts during a half without a goal being scored.
While United went closest, Fulham were unfortunate not to go ahead when Senne Lammens turned the lively Josh King’s volley away and then used an outstretched foot to prevent the midfielder from firing in.
Lammens also denied Alex Iwobi after the winger broke through and Leno, who had earlier repelled a Lisandro Martinez drive, would have been relieved to see Marcus Rashford repeatedly miscue inside the box.
The visitors directed two of their 17 first-half attempts on target, although Neville was more worried by their performance at the other end.
“United’s defending when Fulham go forward is so basic,” said the former England international. “It’s like they’re not moving.
“Rashford had two good chances. [One of them got] a little deflection, but he had time to adjust. You fancy him with that right foot to [direct] it into that far corner.”
Fulham confirmed starting team vs Man United
Fulham were unchanged from their 0-0 draw at Liverpool in the Premier League on September 12.
Fulham: Bernd Leno, Timothy Castagne, David Affengruber, Calvin Bassey, Antonee Robinson, Oscar Bobb, Sander Berge, Josh King, Shea Charles, Alex Iwobi, Gonzalo Garcia
Substitutes: Benjamin Lecomte, Joachim Andersen, Cesar Palacios, Rodrigo Muniz, Kevin, Hugo Larsson, Manuel Angel, Ryan Sessegnon, Emile Smith Rowe
Manchester United full line up vs Fulham
United made a change at full-back from their 1-0 defeat at home to Manchester City a week earlier, bringing in Luke Shaw for Patrick Dorgu.
Manchester United: Senne Lammens, Diogo Dalot, Harry Maguire, Lisandro Martínez, Luke Shaw, Bryan Mbeumo, Youri Tielemans, Bruno Fernandes, Kobbie Mainoo, Marcus Rashford, Matheus Cunha
Substitutes: Karl Darlow, Noussair Mazraoui, Mason Mount, Joshua Zirkzee, Patrick Dorgu, Leny Yoro, Andrey Santos, Carlos Baleba, Shea Lacey
Where to watch Fulham vs Man United: TV channel, live online stream
Kick-off on Sunday was at 16:30 BST (11:30 ET / 08:30 PT), with live coverage in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra.
Via Now TV, Sky Sports costs £14.99 for a day membership, £27.99 a month for a 12-month membership or £34.99 a month with no contract.
Here’s the full list of Premier League international broadcasters.
Fulham vs Manchester United stats
- Fulham are winless in their last 10 Premier League home games against Manchester United (D2 L8) since winning back-to-back matches against them at Craven Cottage in 2009.
- Manchester United have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League games against Fulham (W16 D4), going down 2-1 at Old Trafford in February 2024.
- Fulham are enduring their longest winless start (D1 L3) to a league season since 2020-21, when they failed to win any of their first six Premier League games. Manager Álvaro Arbeloa is the first Fulham boss to fail to win any of his first four league games in charge since Scott Parker in March/April 2019 (first five).
- Manchester United’s total of four points from their first four Premier League games (W1 D1 L2) this season is their joint fewest in the competition at this stage, along with 1992-93 and 2025-26; they did recover from those starts to finish 1st and 3rd in those respective seasons, however.
- Since the start of February – which began with a defeat to Man Utd – the only ever present side to win fewer Premier League points than Fulham (19) is Tottenham Hotspur (15), while Spurs are the only side to lose as many games as the Cottagers in that time (10 each).
- Manchester United had more shots (84) than any other Premier League side across the first four matchdays of this season, and only Brighton (10.2) accumulated a higher xG (8.3). It’s the most shots they’ve had in the first four games of a season on record since 2003-04.
- Fulham have failed to score in 10 Premier League matches in 2026, more than any other side. It’s the highest percentage of games (42%, 10/24) they’ve failed to score in one year in the league since 2010 (also 42%, 16/38).
- Marcus Rashford has created the joint most chances for Manchester United in the Premier League this season (9), while he’s had the most touches in the opposition box (23) and made the most dribbles (14) of any Red Devils player.
- Josh King has made 44 Premier League appearances for Fulham, the most of any teenager for the Cottagers. In the last two seasons, King has made the second most appearances of any teenager in Europe’s big-five leagues (36), behind only Yan Diomande.
- Man Utd captain Bruno Fernandes has five assists in his last five Premier League appearances in London. In fact, in the last two seasons, Fernandes has more assists (5) than any Fulham player has managed in the capital (Harry Wilson, now at Leeds, on 4)
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
