3 Reasons Why Manchester United beat Fulham 3-0 | Premier League 2018-19
Manchester United put three past Fulham to brush them aside and move to fourth place in the Premier League table for the first time since the opening day victory against Leicester City. A brace from Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial helped the cause for Ole Gunnar Solksjaer and co.
It was a sunny afternoon in London as over 25,000 fans turned up at Craven Cottage to witness the opening fixture of the weekend.
Manchester United entered the game with a much-changed line-up to face Claudio Ranieri's men, perhaps in anticipation of their upcoming Champions League tie against French behemoths PSG. Marcus Rashford, Lingard, Ashley Young and Victor Lindelof were all benched by Solksjaer, but Manchester United strolled past the newly-promoted side with relative ease as Pogba and Martial put in a masterclass.
United got off to a slow start, with Fulham dominating play for the first 10 minutes and troubling de Gea more than a couple of times as United had their blushes saved by the Spaniard, who was tasked with leading the side tonight in the absence of Ashley Young.
Anthony Martial caught compatriot Le Marchand in possession and slipped through Paul Pogba, who's been an absolute beast since Mourinho faced the sack. The big number 6 scored past Sergio Rico with an exquisite first-time finish from a very tight angle, despite being on his weaker foot, which just goes to show the kind of form the World Cup winning record signing is in.
Anthony Martial went on a brilliant solo run nine minutes later as Phil Jones won the ball in his own half and laid it off for the mercurial Frenchman, who beat a couple of Fulham players before slotting a shot in the far corner.
Le Marchand's horrendous evening continued as he bundled over Juan Mata in the penalty area after the hour mark, and Paul Pogba put the game to bed with a fine spot kick to take his tally to 11 league goals for this season - the most he's ever scored in league play in a single season.
On that note, let's take a look at three reasons why Manchester United beat Fulham.
#1 Fulham's porous defense
Fulham's defense had another poor outing, making this the 24th occasion when they've failed to keep a clean sheet this season. Their defense was in shambles the entire afternoon as it lacked quality and concentration, which allowed Manchester United to spend minimal energy against a side from whom much was expected of in the summer after their promising promotion and massive outlay in the transfer market.
Things have gone from bad to worse for them, as they have accumulated only four victories in the league. There's still time for them to steer themselves clear from relegation, but it may seem a tall task, as they sit eight points away from safety.
For all three goals, the back line was completely at fault. Be it the alertness levels or man marking, Fulham got it all wrong.