Bruno Fernandes fired home an injury-time winner to secure a much-needed victory for Manchester United at Fulham.
United came into the Craven Cottage clash under a cloud after the midweek Carabao Cup defeat at home to Newcastle.
They were quiet for long periods of the game but a moment of brilliance from skipper Fernandes, who came in for criticism from former United players after the Newcastle loss, gave manager Erik ten Hag a welcome three points.
Fernandes evaded attempts to close him down on the edge of the penalty area before placing his shot beyond Fulham keeper Bernd Leno.
United thought they had taken a 1-0 lead after eight minutes but VAR ruled out Scott McTominay’s effort for offside.
The Scot tapped in Alejandro Garnacho’s cut back but referee John Brooks overturned the goal after VAR ruled Harry Maguire had interfered with play from an offside position.
The decision was a wake-up call for the hosts who were looking to build on Wednesday’s last-16 3-1 Carabao Cup victory at Ipswich.
Craven Cottage was fired up and Willian dragged the Cottagers up the pitch with a slaloming run but his effort was blocked at the last moment.
The Brazilian was Fulham’s main creative outlet in the final third and in the 27th minute he produced a delightful cross, but, in keeping with Fulham’s season so far, no striker was there to finish at the back post.
Nigeria international Alex Iwobi marauded from his own half into United’s box but was wasteful in front of goal, failing to hit the target.
The hangover from United’s back-to-back 3-0 home defeats against Manchester City and Newcastle was clear to see as ten Hag’s side lacked intensity, with Fernandes’ skewed added time cross summing up their first-half efforts.
The visitors searched for a way into the game after halftime through Garnacho who enjoyed touches in promising areas before a dangerous cross was tipped over by Leno.
Momentum shifted in Fulham’s favour on the hour. Iwobi picked out Harry Wilson who tried from range with a powerful outside of the boot effort but he was denied by United keeper Andre Onana.
The Cottagers also came close from the following set-piece when last week’s goal scorer Joao Palhinha failed to keep his effort down as Onana made another save to maintain the deadlock.
The minutes ebbed away and substitutions from both sides sapped the games’ intensity before Fernandes’ free-kick in the 83rd minute gave United hope late on.
The Portuguese midfielder had not been heavily involved but showed what he is capable of when he struck a dipped free-kick towards Leno’s bottom corner and the Fulham keeper did well to prevent United edging in front.
But there was no denying Fernandes in added time. He combined with Rasmus Hojlund and jinked inside onto his preferred right foot before unleashing a powerful shot that proved too much for Leno, who could only palm it into his bottom corner.
Lopetegui agrees to succeed Moyes as West Ham manager – reports
Julen Lopetegui has reportedly agreed to succeed David Moyes as West Ham manager, with the Scot set to leave the London Stadium when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Despite overseeing three successive European campaigns and delivering the Europa Conference League trophy last season, Moyes has continued to face fierce pressure from sections of the West Ham fanbase.
He claimed to have been offered a new contract earlier this season but said he would hold off on making a final decision regarding his future until the end of the campaign.
West Ham sit ninth in the Premier League table after being thrashed 5-0 by Chelsea on Sunday, with their hopes of European qualification all but over following a drop-off since the turn of the year.
Several coaches have been suggested as contenders to replace Moyes, with Sporting CP's Ruben Amorim apologising to his current club after holding talks with the Hammers hierarchy in London last month.
On Monday, however, widespread reports claimed West Ham had reached an agreement in principle with Lopetegui, who left his last job with Wolves on the eve of the Premier League season.
Lopetegui saved Wolves from relegation last term but left the club just three days before the start of 2023-24, having grown frustrated with a lack of transfer activity at Molineux.
He previously led Sevilla to three straight fourth-placed finishes in LaLiga between 2019 and 2022, also overseeing their 3-2 victory over Inter in the 2019-20 Europa League final.
Lopetegui – who has also managed Porto, Spain and Real Madrid – had also been linked with Bayern Munich and Milan, though fan protests derailed his chances of taking charge of the Rossoneri.
Emery has no complaints after tired Aston Villa lose late on at Brighton
Unai Emery accepts Aston Villa can have no complaints over their 1-0 loss to Brighton and Hove Albion in the Premier League.
The Villans fell to a narrow defeat at the Amex Stadium on Sunday as Joao Pedro converted late on after his initial penalty attempt was saved.
Villa looked sluggish throughout yet were just minutes away from claiming a point that would have further boosted their top-four prospects.
John McGinn also had a goal ruled out for a marginal offside, but Emery admits his side were not deserving of a point on their travels.
"We competed but it was not enough," he told BBC Sport. "We weren't strong enough in 90 minutes to deserve anything more than we achieved.
"Now the most important thing is to rest, to rest today, rest tomorrow, after the match.
"We are having an amazing season, brilliant, but of course we are at the last chance and we have to try and give everything."
Villa remain seven points clear of fifth-place Tottenham, albeit having played a game more, after Spurs' 4-2 loss at Liverpool.
Before focus can turn to the Villans' home match with Liverpool in a week's time, they first travel to Olympiacos for their Europa Conference League semi-final second leg.
Emery's men have a major task on their hands if they are to reach the final as they trail 4-2 from last week's first leg at Villa Park.
"We want to put in a good effort on Thursday [against Olympiakos] and on Monday against Liverpool. Now is time to rest," Emery added.
"We had a lot of players injured and they are recovering. The most important thing is to get players back for balance and to be competitive."
Victory for Brighton was much needed after going six without a win in the Premier League, failing to score in four of those matches.
While Roberto De Zerbi was pleased to get back to winning ways, he accepts Brighton were given a helping hand by Villa's quick turnaround in games.
"To be honest, Villa were not themselves, maybe a little tired," he said. "They are playing in the Europa Conference League and they have a lot of injuries.
"I am proud because we played a great game against one of the best teams in the Premier League. Playing against Unai Emery's teams is very tough.
"We played well, we deserved to win and we could have scored more goals. I think Robin Olsen was the best player for Villa."
Declan Rice loss to blame for heavy West Ham defeats - David Moyes
Declan Rice's absence is to blame for a number of heavy West Ham defeats this season, according to manager David Moyes.
West Ham sold captain and influential midfielder Rice to Arsenal last July for a club-record fee rising to £105million with add-ons.
The Hammers have seen results nosedive since the turn of the year, most recently crashing to a 5-0 defeat away at Chelsea on Sunday.
That was the sixth time West Ham have conceded four or more goals away from home this season, and their fifth loss in six away games overall.
Asked at his post-match press conference exactly why his side are on the end of heavy losses so frequently of late, Moyes said: "Declan Rice."
The Scotsman, due to be out of contract next month, added: "You get the best midfield player in the country, protecting, making sure the moments and times you limit maybe 50 per cent of the attacks.
"It makes you a much better defensive team when you get that. We've lacked protection in front of the back four; we've lacked good enough defending; we've not been good enough on those things in many games.
"You've got to be careful. You're talking about a team sitting in a really, really strong position. We've had a couple of bad days away from home, which we have to try and eradicate and make better.
"I'm trying to put a bit of mental toughness when we need it. The teams I normally prepare would normally have it. You could always lose the way you lose."
West Ham have won just one of their past nine Premier League games, seeing them slip down to ninth place and now out of the top-six running.
United have also failed to keep a clean sheet in any of their past 16 in the competition - only the second time they have done so in a single Premier League season.
The poor run of form, which also includes elimination from the Europa League at the hands of a strong Bayer Leverkusen side, has raised doubts over Moyes' future at London Stadium.
Amid suggestions that former Real Madrid and Spain boss Julen Lopetegui has already been lined up, Moyes reiterated he will wait until after the season to hold talks over his future.
"I'm going to talk to the board at the end of the season, so we’ll do that then," he said.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
