Whatever is to happen in the future, there is an unmistakable Ole Gunnar Solskjaer vibe about what Michael Carrick is doing at Manchester United. Three games, three wins and more excitement packed in to five hours of Premier League football than Ruben Amorim managed to deliver in more than a year.
Solskjaer did this once, remember. When the Norwegian stepped in to the breach for his club after the sacking of Jose Mourinho in 2018, he won his first eight games. If Carrick comes anywhere near that – given that they will all be Premier League matches – United will stand on the brink of Champions League qualification.
It’s that simple for Carrick. That’s what he is here for, whether he eventually gets the big job or not. To leave United in a better place than in which he found them. And if he can provide thrills and spills like this as he does it then he it will be quite a ride for anyone who carries United in their heart.
This was a different kind of win than those against Manchester City and Arsenal. This was one shot through with some of the vulnerabilities and insecurities that will perhaps remain until United eventually manage to acquire some better players in some important positions. But it was a win all the same and United, for now, are on a roll.
United seemed to have won this game once by taking a two-goal lead. A first half header from the Brazilian midfielder Casemiro and a fabulous rising shot from Matheus Cunha just before the hour did that for them.
But then, rather carelessly, they seemed to have thrown it away by conceding ground and possession. A Raul Jimenez penalty and then a 92nd minute humdinger from the young Brazilian Kevin hauled Fulham level and seemed to have given them a point that they may just have deserved.
Manchester United beat Fulham 3-2 in dramatic fashion after Benjamin Sesko’s last-gasp goal
Fulham looked to have stolen a point after late goals from Raul Jimenez and Brazilian star Kevin
But the under-pressure Sesko stepped up when it mattered as United rose to fourth place
But United are driven by a little Carrick-infused belief at the moment and here they managed to find one of those late goals for which they were once rather famous.
Bruno Fernandes – excellent as always – provided it and Benjamin Sesko smashed it in at Stretford End. What a noise. What a sight.
There may have been a protest against the owners here before kick-off but this is what people come to football grounds for. Happiness, drama, life-affirming joy.
Winning does indeed do more than merely accrue league points. It lifts spirits, builds confidence and allows players to become themselves a little more. There was evidence of this early on from United who suddenly feel rather less prone to errors and carelessness.
Playing footballers in their actual positions has helped, of course. Carrick’s team already looks better for it’s 4-2-3-1 shape and early on a central midfielder, Kobbie Mainoo, spread the ball wide to a winger, Amad Diallo, who cut on his left foot to deliver a rising shot that Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno touched over. It was a powerful shot that needed saving well.
Soon after that Harry Maguire rose to head a corner down at the near post where Leno dropped to smother. United were bright and playing with purpose and the home crowd responded to that with the kind of vocal support that has not always been apparent in recent years.
Not that Fulham had come to lie down. Under Marco Silva the London club travel in hope these days, wherever they go. Indeed over the course of the opening half, Fulham engineered more of the ball and looked dangerous. In their midfielder Sander Berge they have an under-rated talent and the tall Norwegian was to the fore as his team pushed United back at times.
Fulham may actually have taken the lead in the 13th minute when one of a number of first half corners was headed down at the back post by Jorge Cuenca, who was to have quite an afternoon.
It’s now three wins from three for Michael Carrick since he took over at Old Trafford
Matheus Cunha had put United 2-0 up before the incredible late drama from both sides
There may have been a shove on a United defender as he rose but when the ball dropped to Joachim Andersen, the Fulham captain’s instinctive poke was palmed away by United goalkeeper Senne Lammens.
There was an early balance to the game that made it a good watch and it was a shame that United earned their subsequent advantage in such a strange way.
Referee John Brooks had earlier chosen not to penalise Cuenca as he bundled over a breaking Bryan Mbeumo and seemed too keen to make amends when the same player tackled Cunha ten minutes later. The penalty was given immediately even though it was clear Cuenca had played the ball. VAR immediately got involved but instructed Brooks to award a free-kick for a shirt tug outside the penalty area.
Had Brooks even seen this? Who knows? United understandably didn’t care and when Fernandes chipped in the set-piece, Casemiro above Cuenca to head powerfully in from six yards.
Fulham should certainly have defended the free-kick better and it was a fine header from the Brazilian. But the whole business felt a bit strange and on the touchline Silva was booked for the level and depth of his protests.
United were in the lead and comfortable and as Fulham pushed for parity, always carried a threat on the counter. This United attack can be exhilarating when it comes at you at pace and there were some flashes of that here. At the other end, meanwhile, Alex Iwobi had a low shot saved as Fulham continued to play with belief.
Given what we had seen, the start of the second half was likely to be important. Fulham twice came close to grabbing a goal as Lisandro Martinez was forced to clear from under his own crossbar and then Lammens dropped sharply to save a Harry Wilson free-kick when he had clearly been unsighted.
A Fulham goal at that point would have asked United the kind of questions they are not always adept at answering. As it was United sprang forward to score a beautifully powerful goal that seemed at the time to have given them the breathing space they desperately needed.
Casemiro was the player with the vision to see Cunha had stolen a yard of space inside his marker on the edge of the Fulham area in the 56th minute. And when he slipped the ball through, Cunha’s rising drive from angle at the Stretford End almost took the roof off the old place.
Casemiro had continued his good form after nodding home from a free kick in the first half
After Cunha’s second, Jimenez pulled a goal back after scoring yet another penalty
Kevin then equalised in added time with a stunning curling effort past Senne Lammens
It was a classic counter puncher’s goal, delivered emphatically and with style. It suddenly looked an awful long way back for Fulham and although Cuneca volleyed in a loose ball after a free-kick had bounced off the United wall, he was correctly adjudged to have been offside by VAR call that for some reason took an utterly unacceptable three and a half minutes to deliver.
With 25 minutes still remaining, it felt as though Fulham’s race was run. It wasn’t. A rash challenge by the hitherto excellent Maguire on Raul Jimenez gave them a penalty with seven minutes of regular time left and the Portuguese striker lifted the kick in to the roof of the net.
Then, in the second minute of nine added on, the drama really began. Kevin, once of Shakhtar Donetsk, scored the goal of his life from 20 yards and it seemed as though Silva’s team had done to United what they did to Liverpool at Craven Cottage at the start of last month.
But United were not done. Not yet. A fabulous spin by Fernandes on the far touchline got him away from Calvin Bassey and when his low cross found its way to Sesko, the turn and shot delivered the ball high to Leno’s left and Carrick’s dream start rolled on.
