Lisandro Martinez’s deflected shot earned Manchester United a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fulham on Sunday evening, securing their second Premier League win of 2025.
The first half at Craven Cottage was largely uneventful, with both sides combining for a modest expected goals total of 0.42. Fulham had the better of the few chances, though Andre Onana was rarely tested. Alex Iwobi did manage two tame efforts, but they failed to trouble the United goalkeeper in what was a largely uninspiring 45 minutes.
The second half brought little improvement, with both teams continuing to lack cohesion in the final third. Bruno Fernandes’ clever free-kick drew a few gasps from the crowd but ultimately went wide, leaving supporters with little to cheer about until the 76th minute.
At that point, an enormous stroke of luck gave United the lead. Martinez unleashed a shot from 25 yards, and his effort took a significant deflection off Fulham’s Sasa Lukic, looping into the top corner to break the deadlock.
Fulham pushed for an equalizer in the final minutes, and Joachim Andersen came close with a header that was spectacularly cleared off the line by United substitute Toby Collyer.
Amad Diallo thought he had sealed the win with a goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time, but VAR ruled the Ivorian offside, leaving the scoreline unchanged. Ultimately, Manchester United held on for a vital but unconvincing 1-0 victory.
