Emile Smith Rowe had an immediate impact off the bench to get Fulham a 1-1 draw against Manchester United, a result that stopped what would have been a ninth straight home league defeat against this opponent.
Ruben Amorim’s start at the helm of the Red Devils has been underwhelming and so the pressure was on the visitors to react quickly.
Manchester started well in Fulham’s den and Matheus Cunha could have given them the lead but his strike rattled the post after a neat one-two with Patrick Dorgu and Mason Mount.
Leno denied Bruno Fernandes, but the Portuguese was presented with a clear chance to break the deadlock when Calvin Bassey clumsily brought down Mount in the area. Unfortunately, for the Red Devils, the striker volleyed the spot-kick high over the bar.
Their perseverance eventually paid off on 57 minutes when Bryan Mbeumo’s corner was headed on by Leny Yoro to Rodrigo Muniz, whose deflection took the ball past Leno for the opener.
Floated crosses from the Wings turned out to be very effective for the Whites on this occasion. Smith Rowe made a quick reply with a strike in which he successfully gathered the ball from Iwobi and equalized immediately with his first touch, just three minutes after he came on.
Down to the wire it was very tense with neither team able to find the net, Maguire’s header going wide being the closest attempt to score. So ended the battle at the Cottage, a draw that leaves in total charge of the United only seven victories out of the first 29 league games.
