Although I scored the winning goal but this particular guy was better than me and deserved all the praises”: Manchester United’s defender Lisandro Martinez has named ONE Man United’s teammate who better than him despite scoring the winning goal against Fulham

Lisandro Martínez’s deflected shot in the second half proved to be the difference as Manchester United triumphed 1-0 at Craven Cottage, securing their second Premier League away victory since September.

The match was, to be honest, lacking in quality from both sides, with the visitors, in particular, offering little going forward.

However, United were solid defensively and fought hard to claim the win against a Fulham team that has garnered significant praise this season.

By winning, United extended their unbeaten streak at Craven Cottage, a place where they haven’t lost in the league since December 2009.

For a while, it seemed as if United had settled for a draw. While neither side stood out, Fulham were the more threatening in attack during the first half.

Despite that, André Onana remained largely unchallenged, as Fulham’s efforts amounted to just 0.2 expected goals.

It wasn’t until almost 42 minutes that United registered their first shot, with Matthijs de Ligt nudging the ball toward goal just before halftime, though Bernd Leno comfortably dealt with it. This meant United went into the break with only one attempt, their lowest first-half tally in a league game since they failed to register any against Liverpool last April.

The visitors showed some improvement after halftime, enjoying more possession and coming close with a clever Bruno Fernandes free-kick that hit the side-netting.

By the hour mark, United had 65.4% of the ball in the second half, an improvement from their 50% share in the first half.

Still, neither side managed to penetrate the opposition’s box until after the 70th minute, with quality in the attacking third lacking from both teams.

Perhaps it was fitting that the winning goal came in such an unpredictable manner.

The ball fell to Martínez, who struck from 25 yards, and his shot deflected off Sasa Lukic’s shin, looping over Leno and into the net.

This marked Martínez’s third Premier League goal involvement under Ruben Amorim, a figure only Fernandes and Amad Diallo have surpassed.

Fulham came agonizingly close to equalizing late on, but Toby Collyer cleared a headed shot from Joachim Andersen off the line, a clearance that ultimately proved crucial in securing the win for United, Amorim’s second away Premier League victory.

It could have been a bit more comfortable had Amad’s late shot not been ruled offside, but it didn’t affect the result in the end.