Manchester United clinch 1-0 victory against Fulham

Manchester United played Fulham at Craven Cottage for the second time in two weeks as the Reds won this ‘disrupted’ match through a calm and smart finish by Wayne Rooney towards the end of the second half.

Sir Alex played a very strong side for this fixture having been aware of the pressure a win could amount over rivals Manchester City who play Liverpool on Sunday. Rooney and Robin van Persie started upfront with Valencia and Nani on the wings. This was Nani’s first start since September while Tom Cleverley was brought back into the squad. At the back, Vidic was replaced by Evans. Fulham started off without the injured Berbatov, who scored thrice in the 4 opportunities in this fixture for Manchester United.

Fulham began positively, putting pressure on the United defense as the visitors slowly grew into the game and posed their first threat from a corner, which is quite understandable as the leaders have demonstrated in this campaign. Evra could have increased his tally to 5 had he not struck the crossbar. He had another opportunity shortly from near the edge of the box. This time, he was denied by Schwarzer. With Rooney playing in the hole, he had a few chances as well and was a big problem for the hosts.

Fulham came close to breaking the deadlock as well through Ruiz and Dejagah,  not to mention Riise’s audacious attempt from 30 yards. De Gea punched out Riise’s effort for a corner and managed to get a finger to Ruiz’s effort from outside the box. De Gea’s fabulous touch pushed the ball towards the post. Dejagah was next and managed to get a shot which was inches wide from the goal. The exciting half was however disrupted by a power failure, which caused a delay of 15 minutes.

The second half didn’t fail to impress the spectators. Manchester United and Fulham started the half cancelling each other out well. With half an hour left to play and no sign of a goal, Chicharito entry loomed large. He eventually replaced Antonio Valencia after the latter earned a free kick in a great position for Van Persie, whose shot was comfortably saved by Schwarzer. Giggs soon came on for Nani as well. His entry marked a strong tactical change. United now played the long ball while trying to stretch the Fulham defense.

And it proved fruitful after a ball by Evans played to the attacking half was received by Rooney who managed to guide in coolly into the back of the net. United were up 1-0 with around 10 minutes to play. Fulham thereafter became all the more aggressive and gave United a real test. They could have gone ahead through a headed attempt from a corner, which was headed away by Van Persie on the line. Fulham kept pressing forward but couldn’t get the equalizer which they may have deserved for their fighting performance.

The match ended with United winning 1-0. Wayne Rooney increased his goal tally by another fine goal and continued his brilliant form. The striker has netter 8 goals in his previous 7 league encounters. United face Everton next at Old Trafford. Meanwhile, City will be battling Liverpool at the Etihad stadium tonight hoping to bring the gap back down to 7 points.