Fulham gave MU a slap to wake up from their dreams

After 5 consecutive victories in all competitions, including 4 in the Premier League, MU is confident of finishing in the Top 4 to win tickets to the Champions League next season. However, the defeat against Fulham right at Old Trafford brought the Red Devils back to harsh reality.

Rasmus Hojlund is injured, MU is in danger

Hojlund breaks Premier League record

M.U's best and worst players in their win over Luton

Before the match, Man United was rated much higher than Fulham - the club only ranked in the bottom half of the rankings. Coach Erik ten Hag's team possesses too many advantages over their opponents, from form, spirit to the field. The only ripple for MU is that they lost Rasmus Hojlund - a goalscorer who is in very high form, due to injury. However, the remaining names on the attack like Marcus Rashford or Alejandro Garnacho are expected to shine in place of Hojlund to bring the next victory to the Red Devils.

However, what happened at Old Trafford was completely opposite. No one can recognize which is MU and which is Fulham. The red shirts played sporadically, lacking highlights and Andre Onana's goal was often put on alert. If Fulham's spearheads had been sharper, perhaps the away team wouldn't have had to wait until the 65th minute to open the score. All MU could do before conceding a goal was Diogo Dalot's kick hitting the post in the second half of the first half.

MU played very poorly against Fulham

Harry Maguire shined to equalize for MU in the 89th minute, and after many late victories this season, the Red Devils dreamed of a comeback against Fulham in extra time. However, it was Fulham who delivered the fatal blow. When the clock ticked to minute 90+6', substitute Adama Traore boldly broke through from the right wing and passed to Alex Iwobi in the penalty area. The former Arsenal star handled it quickly, before kicking into the near corner, leaving Andre Onana rooted to the spot.

The whole Old Trafford was as quiet as paper after that moment, and to be fair, it was a worthy reward for Fulham because they dominated MU throughout the match despite having to be guests. After the match, coach Erik ten Hag insisted that his team deserved to win, and declared that "MU's overall picture is very good". In Ten Hag's mind, he should not have been judged based on a result. However, the Dutch strategist forgot that this was MU's 10th defeat in the Premier League this season. Worse, it makes the Red Devils' ambition to enter the Top 4 become increasingly distant.

MU is not better than any big club in terms of expertise, but in terms of illusion, they are definitely number 1. Currently, the Red Devils are ranked 6th with 44 points, 8 points behind the 4th ranked team, Aston Villa. This is clearly a big gap, and this gap is likely to widen further because next weekend, MU will have to march to Man City's Etihad. What percentage are there for Ten Hag and his team to surprise the Green Man - the team that easily defeated them 6-3 in their last meeting in the Premier League?

Ten Hag only knows how to make excuses after MU's failures

When asked further about the cause of MU's defeat against Fulham, Ten Hag once again used injury as an excuse. The Red Devils have indeed lost Hojlund, Luke Shaw and Lisandro Martinez, but Fulham also entered this match without three key factors including Joao Palhinha, Willian, Raul Jimenez. And while coach Marco Silva has another convincing plan, Ten Hag is poor in every aspect. MU could not control the midfield, the defense was constantly breached and the attack was lackluster. Except for Garnacho, the best players on the field all wore black and white shirts, including Iwobi - who scored the goal that killed MU.

If talking about injuries, Liverpool is the club most affected. However, let's see how Jurgen Klopp's team has played in recent times. Everything shows that Ten Hag is only good at blaming and this is what makes MU so far only like that.

MU has revived and can compete for the Top 4 this season? Yes, but only in dreams.