Manchester United’s revival under Michael Carrick keeps finding new ways to announce itself. This time it was the most dramatic kind: a two-goal lead, a full-blown wobble, a Fulham equaliser that briefly turned Old Trafford into a stunned theatre of disbelief, and then one last, sharp slice of quality from Bruno Fernandes that allowed Benjamin Sesko to write the ending.
United won 3-2, but the scoreline only tells you who got the points, not who held the pen for most of the second half. Fulham did. They pushed, probed, and played with the calm of a side that believes its patterns will eventually punch through. When they finally did, it came in a late double that had Carrick’s men wobbling on the ropes, only for Sesko to land the final blow in stoppage time.
For Carrick, the bigger story is that the wins are no longer arriving by accident. Since returning to the dugout, United’s football has looked more purposeful, less frantic. There’s a clearer idea of where the ball should go, how quickly it should travel, and when to be brave. Even when Fulham began to dominate possession, United still carried that Carrick hallmark: a willingness to suffer without completely losing their shape, and then explode forward in moments rather than meander.
The opening half was set by an early flashpoint and an early header. United started with energy, pressing in short, sharp bursts and trying to find Matheus Cunha between Fulham’s midfield and defence. When Cunha went down under pressure from Jorge Cuenca, the referee initially pointed to the spot, only for VAR to intervene and reshape the moment. United didn’t get their penalty, but they did get a free-kick in a prime crossing area, and Fernandes delivered with the kind of dead-ball quality that makes chaos feel like choreography.
Casemiro, timing his run perfectly, powered a header past Bernd Leno to give United the lead. It was a goal that felt very Carrick-era in its practicality: win territory, win a set piece, punish the opponent. Fulham, though, did not retreat into panic. They kept the ball well, moved it with patience, and looked most dangerous when they drew United out and then switched play quickly toward the wide areas.
United’s best moments in open play came when they broke lines with one-touch combinations and quick forward passes. Amad threatened from the edge of the box, Bryan Mbeumo’s runs kept Fulham’s back line honest, and Fernandes drifted into pockets to turn and play forward. Still, the first half ended with the sense that Fulham were growing into the contest, enjoying more of the ball and beginning to squeeze United’s build-up.
United struck again early in the second half, and it looked, for a while, like the game had tilted firmly their way. Cunha doubled the lead with a thunderous finish, the kind that doesn’t ask permission. It was a goal built on timing and bravery in midfield, with Casemiro’s involvement again central as United found a direct route into the right channel before Cunha hammered the ball into the roof of the net.
At 2-0, the afternoon should have been about game management. Instead, it became about survival.
Fulham’s response was persistent rather than frantic. They pushed higher, rotated their midfield and wide players to create better angles, and began to force United deeper. A key moment came when Fulham thought they had pulled one back, only for VAR to rule it out for offside after a lengthy check. It didn’t discourage them. If anything, it sharpened their intent.
As the clock ran down, the pressure began to feel inevitable. United’s clearances became shorter. Their passing, once crisp, started to look like it had sand in the gears. Fulham, meanwhile, kept arriving around the box, asking the same question in slightly different ways.
The comeback began with a penalty. Raúl Jiménez converted after a foul in the area, sending the ball into the top corner and giving Fulham the belief they’d been building for the better part of an hour. Suddenly, every Fulham touch carried momentum, every United duel carried anxiety.
Then came the moment that nearly stole the match.
Kevin, the young Brazilian forward with the soft feet and the winger’s appetite for space, stepped off the bench and produced a finish that belonged in a highlights reel before the ball even hit the net. From outside the box, he whipped a right-footed shot into the top corner, a curling strike that turned Fulham’s chase into a full-blooded rescue mission completed. At 2-2 deep in stoppage time, it felt like Carrick’s perfect start as United’s boss was about to meet its first cruel twist.
But Carrick’s United, in these early weeks of his return, have carried a new trait: they don’t fold when the script changes. They rewrite.
With Fulham still celebrating, Fernandes collected himself and did what elite playmakers do in late-game chaos: he simplified, then accelerated. He found space, shaped the angle, and delivered a cross that invited Sesko to be a striker rather than a spectator. Sesko took a touch, kept his nerve, and curled a finish into the top corner to restore United’s lead in the 94th minute.
Old Trafford erupted, not just because it was late, but because it was defiant. A team that has too often looked emotionally fragile in recent seasons suddenly looked like one that could absorb a punch and still swing back harder.
That swing mattered. It preserved Carrick’s 100 per cent record since returning, moved United back into the top-four picture, and extended the feeling that the club is playing with a clearer mind and a sharper edge. Yet the match also served as a warning. United’s defensive control faded badly once Fulham’s possession began to stick, and the margins were thin enough for the afternoon to have ended very differently.
Afterwards, Carrick spoke about the scrutiny that came with this kind of fixture, and the satisfaction of answering it. “It’s a special place this, and it does special things,” he said, before stressing how tough Fulham made it and how pleased he was for Sesko after such a decisive moment.
Marco Silva, meanwhile, focused his frustration on the early officiating and the confusion around the initial penalty decision. “The game started with a horrendous, terrible decision,” he said, calling it a “big, big mistake” and suggesting the communication on the touchline didn’t match what ultimately happened. For a Fulham side that produced the higher share of possession and created enough pressure to turn 2-0 into 2-2, it was a bitter way to leave empty-handed.
Fulham will take heart from the performance, and Kevin’s goal will be remembered long after the result. United will take the points, and Carrick will take another chapter of evidence that this return is not merely sentimental. It is, increasingly, structural.
