United leave it late at Craven Cottage
Fulham 1–1 Manchester United, and it was Matheus Cunha who dragged you level (4). You fell behind through a Lisandro Martinez own goal, with Bernd Leno beaten at the other end for Cunha's equaliser (4). Five games in, one win, 12th in the table on five points (4).
Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo started in midfield at Craven Cottage (4).
Cunha is not having the noise
Cunha answered the critics straight after the draw. "Last season was my first season here, and then maybe it was more crazy than this one," he said. "There was a lot of noise around us, a season without Champions League, and now we're in. And we won our first game in the Champions League" (7).
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Sesko's shin keeps him out
Benjamin Sesko missed the Fulham trip and has now withdrawn from the Slovenia squad with his shin problem (10). He will undergo tests (1) (2). He has still scored twice for United this season (10). Slovenia host Scotland in the Nations League on Saturday, and Andraz Sporar was blunt about the loss. "It is impossible to replace a player of Benjamin's calibre, but football is a team sport and Slovenia has never relied on just one player" (10).
Carrick stays, and the club says Conte was never called
United deny any contact with Antonio Conte about the manager's job (6). Michael Carrick's position is not in question, according to the club (6). No approach, no talks (6).
Owen says Rashford is the weak link
Michael Owen expects Marcus Rashford to lose his starting place. "There's a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left, and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand" (2).
Lineker turns on the owners
Gary Lineker went after Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers. "I must congratulate the Glazers on finding someone even worse than them that they can blame and getting him in there and getting all the stick: Jim Ratcliffe," he said (8). He called Ratcliffe an unpleasant human being running a mess of a club (9).
Real Madrid sniff around JJ Gabriel
Real Madrid are studying whether they can move for JJ Gabriel, United's 15-year-old academy talent (3). Gabriel has told the club he wants to leave Old Trafford (3).
Left-back hunt gets harder
United want a new left-back (1). Crystal Palace are stepping up efforts to keep Tyrick Mitchell, with United still watching him (13) (14). Lewis Hall is off the market after signing a Newcastle extension to 2031, and he said the United interest never bothered him. "No, honestly, it didn't. I guess whenever you're linked to another team, you know that you're doing something right" (5).
Guirassy on the January list
United are looking at Borussia Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy to add competition up front while Sesko is out, with Joshua Zirkzee potentially leaving (12) (11). The Palace and Dortmund targets are both part of the January planning (14).
Fan reactions
The mood on r/reddevils and r/soccer is mostly the Sesko news, with the Athletic report that he will undergo tests after pulling out of the Slovenia squad drawing the most traffic, since he missed Fulham as well. There is little patience left for the slow start, and the Cunha interview is doing a lot of work holding the optimism together. The main thread is here.
