Paul Pogba’s stunning strike sends Manchester United back to the top of the Premier League with a 2-1 victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Fulham took the lead when Aaron Wan-Bissaka kept Ademola Lookman onside to dispatch a low finish into the far bottom corner on 5 minutes.
Edinson Cavani equalised for the visitors midway into the first half with a predatory finish just moments after Bruno Fernandes crashed a strike against the post.
Pogba drifted into space and located the top corner with an exquisite long range strike just past the hour mark to secure a valuable win.
The Red Devils also equalled a club record of 17 away league games unbeaten.
Man United started very poorly. They were loose in possession and Fulham punished them ruthlessly by unlocking their ineffective offside trap to take an early lead.
Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa’s sublime long ball bypassed United’s defence and Lookman raced away from his marker to fire emphatically into the far bottom corner.
The visitors had a penalty claim waved away when Fred went down inside the penalty area following a challenge from Ruben Loftus-Cheek. However, they responded well to going behind and Cavani consolidated their resurgence with the equaliser.
Fernandes drilled a low shot against the upright and the attack seemed to have lost its momentum. The Portuguese international drifted out to the left and his cross was fatally spilled by Areola.
Cavani pounced to mercilessly punish Areola for his mistake with a predatory finish. United squandered two chances in quick succession.
Anthony Martial’s header deflected wide of the near post and Harry Maguire failed to hit the target from the resulting corner. Pogba unleashed a rocket into the far top corner from improbable range to complete the turnaround for United with 25 minutes remaining.
Cavani could’ve doubled their advantage but his header was masterfully kept out by Areola, who made amends for his error for the first goal.
Fulham applied intense pressure during the final 20 minutes and caused United many problems. Ruben Loftus-Cheek was an attacking outlet for the Cottagers and had two golden chances to rescue a point.
The Fulham loanee was fantastic in the transition. He was thwarted by the legs of David de Gea and tore through the midfield to start a dangerous counter-attack.
Lookman’s cross was poorly cleared by Luke Shaw but Loftus-Cheek sliced over from close range. Aleksandar Mitrovic had the final chance in the latter stages but his header deflected agonisingly wide of the near post.
Teams
Fulham: A Areola; O Aina (A Mitrovic 83’), J Andersen, T Adarabioyo; K Tete, A Anguissa (M Lemina 71’), H Reed, J Bryan; R Loftus-Cheek, I Cavaleiro (A Kamara 71’); A Lookman.
Subs not used: M Rodak, D Odoi, T Ream, M Hector, J Onomah, N Kebano.
Man United: D De Gea; A Wan-Bissaka, E Bailly, H Maguire, L Shaw; P Pogba, Fred; M Greenwood (M Rashford 85’), B Fernandes (N Matic 90 +4), A Martial (M Rashford 85’); E Cavani.
Subs not used: D Henderson, A Tuanzebe, A Telles, D Van de Beek, D James, J Mata, N Matic.
