Manchester United rescued a point from a grim afternoon in west London, Matheus Cunha's heavily deflected 89th-minute effort cancelling out Lisandro Martinez's calamitous own goal to earn a 1-1 draw against Fulham — but concerns over Marcus Rashford's fitness cast a shadow over even that small relief.
Rashford was withdrawn in the 77th minute, visibly holding his groin as he made his way to the touchline to be replaced by Joshua Zirkzee. Manager Michael Carrick offered little reassurance when pressed. "We had to bring him off as he had a bit of an issue," Carrick told beIN Sports. Asked whether Rashford was alright, he replied: "I'm not sure."
The forward's condition will be watched closely given that Thomas Tuchel has named him in the England squad for the international break. Carrick had spoken warmly of Rashford's contribution before the substitution, saying he could have scored more than once during the afternoon.
Benjamin Sesko's absence had already complicated Carrick's options before kick-off. The striker has reaggravated the shin injury that blighted a long stretch of last season, and Carrick said the extent of the damage was not yet known. Mason Mount and Patrick Dorgu also came off the bench in the closing stages.
The own goal that put Fulham ahead in the 63rd minute was a painful watch. Calvin Bassey's forward run drew a save from Senne Lammens, and when Martinez rolled the ball back towards his goalkeeper, the shot-stopper was caught between using his foot and his hand and the ball crept over the line. Gary Neville, on commentary duty for Sky Sports, delivered a withering verdict, calling the preceding quarter of an hour the worst he had ever seen from United in a lifetime of watching them, branding their lack of effort pathetic and saying the manager had to act.
Cunha's own assessment of his side's performance was equally damning. He said Fulham had shown more energy in the second half and that United could not keep relying on conceding before raising their level. Carrick rejected that reading, pointing to the manner in which his players kept pressing for an equaliser after going behind as evidence that the effort had been there.
Bernd Leno was in inspired form for the hosts, making five saves and earning the man of the match award. Martinez, Bryan Mbeumo and Rashford were all denied by the German, while Bruno Fernandes and Cunha struck the woodwork on separate occasions. United had 25 shots in total but found the net only through a deflection off Fulham defender David Affengruber that wrongfooted Leno.
The decision to take Kobbie Mainoo off in the 80th minute drew boos from a section of the support. Carrick said he had spoken to the midfielder afterwards and that Mainoo understood the reasoning and was focused entirely on what was best for the team.
Carlos Baleba, signed for £70m in the summer, was named in the squad but is still awaiting a competitive debut after arriving with an ankle injury. Amad Diallo continues his recovery from the ankle problem that has kept him absent all season, with Carrick saying he hoped Amad would be training with the group by the time the squad reconvened after the break. Matthijs de Ligt, who has not featured since suffering a lower back injury in November 2025, travelled with the party but was not involved. Manuel Ugarte is in rehabilitation at Carrington following surgery on a ruptured ACL sustained at the World Cup and is expected to miss most of this season.
United head into the international break with five points from five games, sitting 12th in the Premier League and 10 points behind Manchester City. Their next fixture is against Tottenham on 10 October.
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