Benjamin Sesko will never forget the sweet pirouette-and-finish that burst Bernd Leno’s net in stoppage time to earn Manchester United a dramatic victory over Fulham.
Only 180 seconds earlier Kevin had curled a peach of an equaliser past Senne Lammens in the 92nd minute that hushed the Old Trafford faithful and seemed to have grabbed a point for the visitors.
“Who are you?” roared the away supporters but the taunts were now returned by those of a United persuasion. Bruno Fernandes ran down the right, crossed and Sesko did the rest, right before the adoring Stretford End, the grin from the striker, on as a replacement, lighting his face in sheer ecstasy as a melee of teammates joined the party.
His was the third senses-tingling strike of a breathtaking second half. The first came from Matheus Cunha who danced before the Stretford End to celebrate a strike reminiscent of past ones that have lit up this stadium through the years. From outside Fulham’s area, to the right of the D, Casemiro slid a pass in behind the rearguard. The Brazilian hurtled forward and, with the angle closing, smashed his right boot through the ball to beat Leno.
Cue Cunha spreading his arms in a surfing-like action that might have come straight from the wave-riders of Copacabana beach, the winger’s finish following Casemiro’s first-half opener.
This delighted United and their afternoon continued to be rosy when Jorge Cuenca was again affected by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR), James Bell, after his lead role in Casemiro’s opener.
Raúl Jiménez’s free-kick hit United’s wall inside the area, Samuel Chukwueze’s effort hit Lisandro Martínez and broke kindly for the Spaniard to score. But after a prolonged review, Bell adjudged Chukwueze to be offside though the image used by the VAR seemed inconclusive.
Fulham will feel harshly treated. Marco Silva’s team were far better after the break and scored a late Jiménez penalty before Kevin’s goal after Harry Maguire had chopped the Mexican down .
United will not care a jot. They have a third consecutive victory under Michael Carrick and the feeling around the club is as buoyant as it was despairing before Ruben Amorim was sacked.
The home side were bright all contest. An Amad Diallo shot had Leno diving to his right to beat the ball away. Then, two United penalty claims involving Cuenca – one denied and one given by the referee, John Brooks, before the VAR overturned the on-field decision but awarded a free-kick for an earlier infringement that created Casemiro’s finish.
First Brooks correctly denied Bryan Mbeumo a spot-kick because Cuenca took the ball first. But when the centre-back upended Cunha, Brooks did point to the spot but missed that the Spaniard had taken the ball before man. The penalty decision was overturned but VAR indicated Cuenca had grabbed Cunha before he ran into the area and a foul was given.
From the free kick, Bruno Fernandes picked out Casemiro at the back post and he headed home to Silva’s all-round disgust, the Portuguese booked for his protestations.
The goal reflected United’s control. Fulham carried an occasional threat only. At one corner a Joachim Andersen stabbed effort was tipped behind by Lammens and that was about it.
United’s was a flow seen too rarely in recent years, an easiness of play that had Kobbie Mainoo drifting a ball into the area that a flying Fernandes just missed and Diallo cantering to halfway, squaring inside to his captain, and Fernandes sweeping the ball left to Cunha.
Standing in his technical Carrick cut a diametrically opposite figure to Silva. The interim United manager emanated a cool persona that was breathed into his charges, illustrated by the move with which they ended the opening half. A Fernandes backheel into Diallo was as nonchalant as the winger’s swivel-and-unload that was deflected out for a corner.
Fulham had lost only once in all competitions since 17 December, a run of eight games featuring five wins and two draws in the league.
Silva’s team arrived two places and five points behind their hosts but an improvement was needed if the gap was to be reduced. The Portuguese’s one change had been Chukwueze for Kevin and now, the upturn in performance came.
A clever Alex Iwobi chip to Lammens’ right-post area was hit back across goal and Martínez cleared. The rest of the period was breathless, featuring Cunha’s goal, the unfortunate Cuenca’s disallowed strike and Sesko heading against a post before Kevin’s finish and the Slovenian’s winner.
Beforehand the 1958, a fan group, staged its latest action against United’s ownership. A march featuring about 500 supporters was directed at Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the largest single minority owner, in addition to the Glazers, the majority proprietors.
