MANCHESTER UNITED survived a late scare from Fulham thanks to a ‘Fergie Time’ winner from Benjamin Sesko.
The Red Devils clinched a 3-2 win over the London side following a dramatic final 10 minutes.
With Casemiro having broken the deadlock after just 19 minutes and Matheus Cunha doubling the advantage shortly after half-time, Fulham pushed for a late fightback at Old Trafford.
Raul Jiminez gave the Cottagers hope in the 85th minute from the penalty spot before Kevin scored a 91st-minute equaliser.
However, Sesko popped up in the final seconds of the match with a brilliant finish to snatch all three points.
In the latest episode of SunSport’s Tactics Exposed, Dean Scoggins looked at how Michael Carrick masterminded his third win as interim head coach.
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CUNHA’S THE WANDERER
Cunha played in a slightly different role – almost in a 3-4-3 shape in the way United set up in attack.
The Brazilian was not really playing on the left – he instead moved more central to overload the right.
United did that because Fulham tend to attack down that side, leaving space in behind.
Cunha also joined Bruno Fernandes and Bryan Mbeumo in forcing back the Fulham defensive line, giving wing-backs Luke Shaw and Amad Diallo more space in the wide areas or stretching the centre-backs to leave room in the central areas.
BIG BEN STRIKES ONE
After Cunha was substituted off, Fernandes became the man to target that right space.
In the build-up to the goal he moved into that space, dragging Calvin Bassey wide and opening up plenty of space.
Sesko did not get close to the centre-back nearest to the ball, instead he created space for himself and had enough time to stop the pass before shooting.
KOBBIE DOES THE JOBBIE
The duo of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo has been very impressive since Carrick took over.
Because Cunha, Fernandes and Mbeumo were able to pin back the Fulham defence, Mainoo did most of his work in the attacking half.
The England midfielder also had a good mix of long and short passes.
He sent the ball out wide to Mbeumo in the build-up to the Cunha goal to kickstart the attack.
Mainoo also won the ball back at a crucial moment before the strike.
When the 20-year-old and Casemiro are working alongside each other, they know exactly what they are doing and so are not forced into just chasing the ball.
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