Man United vs Fulham: Four unforgettable Premier League classics revisited

Manchester United are set to welcome Fulham at Old Trafford in the Premier League on Sunday.

Caretaker head coach Michael Carrick could hardly have asked for a better opening chapter, masterminding back-to-back statement victories over bitter rivals Manchester City and Arsenal.

While the Red Devils have thrived against elite opposition, their struggles have often surfaced against sides willing to sit deep and surrender possession.

United will no longer be an underdog for the first time under Carrick, and they will have to dictate the tempo of the game against the Cottagers.

With that in mind, we revisit four of the most memorable Premier League clashes between the two clubs.

Man United 5-1 Fulham (Aug 2006)

Any conversation about United vs Fulham in the Premier League era must start with this game.

At home for the season opener, three years without winning the league title (imagine that), lead striker Ruud van Nistelrooy shipped off to Real Madrid and your only summer signing, a young Michael Carrick, injured and unavailable, leading to a midfield pairing of John O’Shea and Paul Scholes.

The big story going into the game was the potential fallout from the 2006 World Cup quarter-final clash between England and Portugal, in which Cristiano Ronaldo was caught winking to his bench on camera after helping his teammates pressure the referee into sending Wayne Rooney off.

Behind the scenes, they had patched up (with a lot of credit going to Rooney here), but the press were ready for the first false step. Unfortunately for the ABU brigade, there would be none.

United were electric going forward, racing to a 4-0 lead in the first 19 minutes of the game with Ronaldo, Rooney and Louis Saha combining with deadly accuracy (the game ended 5-1).

As opening day title markers go, this is the standard-bearer. A team that was miles off the pace in the last few years, having endured the embarrassment of club legend Roy Keane with Sir Alex Ferguson the season before, was suddenly the best in the league.

We’ll let you read the match report here if you’d like, but if you weren’t watching the game live, it was euphoric. A summer spent fretting over the squad’s weaknesses evaporated as United used pace, aggression and skill – combined with a ‘we’re going for everything’ attitude that’s become known as the ‘United DNA’ – to bludgeon their Premier League rivals into submission.

This was the first game on the road to winning three consecutive league titles (four out of five, five out of seven) and launched Ferguson’s third all-conquering era (2007-2013).

There may be teams with better records, but there aren’t many season openers that set the tone in 19 minutes like this. You’ll never win anything with kids, they said. So good were United that they did it with two different generations of players.

Man United 3-2 Fulham (Aug 2012)

Old Trafford was stunned early on as Damien Duff fired Fulham into an unexpected lead via a cleverly worked free-kick routine.

All eyes were on Robin van Persie making his full debut, and the Dutchman wasted little time announcing himself by volleying United level from a Patrice Evra cross.

Shinji Kagawa smashed in his home debut goal before Rafael headed home to cap off a fantastic first half.

Nemanja Vidic inadvertently scored an own goal after a misjudgement from David de Gea.

The young goalkeeper redeemed himself in style, producing two crucial late saves to ensure United clung on for all three points.

Fulham 0-1 Man United (Nov 2023)

Any discussion about the Red Devils in the last six years is incomplete without the brilliance of Fernandes.

United failed to find creativity in the final third for large parts of the game.

The hosts came close to breaking the deadlock but Andre Onana kept them at bay.

With the match drifting toward a frustrating stalemate, Facundo Pellistri provided the spark with a clever lay-off on the edge of the box.

Fernandes seized the moment, drilling a precise finish into the bottom corner to snatch victory at the death.

The win carried added significance, arriving just days after demoralising 3-0 defeats to Manchester City and Newcastle United.

Man United 1-0 Fulham (Aug 2024)

Bruno Fernandes came agonisingly close on two occasions, only for Bernd Leno to frustrate United with a pair of outstanding saves.

Just as Van Persie scored on his full debut, Joshua Zirkzee netted the match-winning goal in the 87th minute on his first-ever appearance in a United shirt.

He came off the bench at the hour mark and impressed with his crisp passing.

Casemiro and Alejandro Garnacho combined on the right side before the young Argentine forward floated a cross.

The Netherlands international made a perfectly timed run into the box before steering the ball calmly beyond Leno and into Old Trafford folklore.

Article written by Sanidhya Bhardwaj .