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| Rooney curls home the winning goal |
In a game that saw crossbars and posts struck and floodlights go out, Wayne Rooney was the man to win the game for United with just over 10 minutes to go. RVP rarely threatened and Hernandez only had one chance on goal as Rooney sent out a message to show he was still United's main front man.
Fulham will rightly feel unlucky not to finish the night with at least a point. They had multiple chances and forced plenty of quality saves out of David De Gea.
The first opportunity of the game fell to Man Utd. The ball though didn't quite fall kindly for United as it was firstly cleared off the line before Evra struck the crossbar. The pinball continued in the penalty area, and when it was finally out of the area, Nani swivelled brilliantly only to see his tame effort saved low at his near post by Mark Schwarzer.
After some sustained United pressure Risse found space down the other end before sending a powerful drive towards De Gea who tipped the ball over the crossbar. Bryan Ruiz then forced a remarkable fingertip save from De Gea. Ruiz's low drive from just outside the 18 yard box was tipped onto the post, before being cleared by United's defence. Straight down the other end Hangeland took the ball away from Nani just in time to deny the winger. From the resulting corner, Hangeland headed onto his own crossbar and Valencia followed up slamming the ball into the side netting.
More end-to-end football ensued as Dejagah went close one end while Rooney did the same at the other. Rooney continued to be United's biggest threat as he struck the inside of the post after Cleverly laid the ball off beautifully.
United were now looking the better team but failed to create any meaningful chances before the floodlights went out 3 minutes before the break. Players were lead off the pitch as the stadium was lit up by the crowds mobile phones.
The 2nd half failed to start with the same pace of the first as both sides had adventurous strikes at goal. Still it was a flowing game, that never stayed in one team's half for a considerably long time. A nice flowing move by United was thwarted by Chris Baird who blocked Nani's effort after he'd had his own strike saved well by De Gea.
As we entered the final 20 minutes, Fulham were looking the more likely team to find a winner as Reither was denied by De Gea, before Ruiz saw his header nodded off the line by Rafael.
But, just as Fulham were looking on top, along came Wayne Rooney to shake things up. He latched on to a ball over the Fulham defence, and as Hughes backed off he curled the ball into the bottom corner, leaving Schwarzer with no chance.
After looking for a winner, Fulham were left with 10 minutes to salvage a point against a United side that had been resilient all night, in a game full of chances.
On 81 minutes Rodallega found himself free in the penalty area but couldn't keep his header down. Van Persie then came to United's rescue on the defensive end has he headed Senderos's goal bound header off the line, although the drama may not have ended their.
Fulham were presented with one last chance in the 94th minute - much to Alex Ferguson's displeasure. Rodallega stepped up to take a free-kick from just outside the area, but it was straight into the United wall, before the referee called the curtains on a gripping game.
The Reds had done it again, and for the 2nd time this season Fulham were the victims of being beaten by a sub-par United. Just imagine what Man Utd would be like if they played at their best every week. Maybe they wouldn't be in the same glorious position they are in right now, and that is the beauty of it. That's the secret to United's success.
Man of the Match: Wayne Rooney- Rooney not only got the crucial goal of the match, but he was also United's stand out player. He was by far their biggest threat and he can be well and truly pleased with his nights work.
FULHAM 0
MAN UTD 1
ROONEY 79
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