Manchester United was held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, failing to record their first Premier League victory.
The Red Devils took the lead in the second half thanks to a header from Leny Yoro that was subsequently determined to be an own goal by Rodrigo Muniz. It looked like they were headed for all three points.
Unfortunately, Emile Smith Rowe was able to ghost in and knock the ball past Altay Bayindir to give the home team a point due to a United defensive breakdown.
There was also a missed penalty amongst it all, as Bruno Fernandes skied his effort over the bar in the first-half before the own goal from Muniz put United ahead anyway.
Bruno Fernandes’ performance against Fulham
When a penalty was given for Calvin Bassey’s foul on Mason Mount in the area, the Portugal international had the ideal opportunity to take the lead, but his shot went far over the crossbar.
Although Fernandes was upset that the referee cut short his run-up, which he restarted, the strike’s poor quality could not be justified.
But aside from that missed penalty, the United captain had a really strong game. The central midfielder completed both of his attempted dribbles, generated one chance, and won eight of his ten duels, according to Sofascore.
Fernandes was aggressive and powerful while out of possession and attempted to use the ball to force an outcome, but he let himself down in a peculiar way from the penalty spot.
Patrick Dorgu, meanwhile, performed worse overall than the left captain, and Ruben Amorim ought to think about benching him with brutality.
Why Patrick Dorgu should be dropped\
As a wing-back, the Danish full-back is supposed to add energy and an attacking outlet down the left, but he did not perform up to par against the Cottagers.
Too much was lacking in Dorgu’s performance. According to Sofascore, despite having a solid defensive game, Fernandes lost six of his eight ground duels and was twice dribbled past without making a tackle.
This demonstrates that he failed to adequately shield Luke Shaw down the left wing and that Fulham attackers were able to defeat him in one-on-one encounters far too often.
Unfortunately, the 20-year-old flop’s use of the ball did not make up for his lack of defensive quality, as the former Serie A starlet failed to deliver quality in possession.
| Vs Fulham | Patrick Dorgu |
|---|---|
| Minutes | 90 |
| Key passes | 0 |
| Big chances created | 0 |
| Crosses completed | 0/2 |
| Dribbles completed | 0/1 |
| Shots | 0 |
| Possession lost | 18x |
| Stats via Sofascore | |
Dorgu lost possession a staggering eighteen times without generating a single opportunity or having a shot on goal to test Bernd Leno, as the table above illustrates.
The Danish whiz’s long attempt to cross the ball struck the side netting without bothering anyone in Fulham white, but he did execute a flawless run to break the final line of Fulham’s defense the one time.
For this reason, following the League Cup match against Burnley, Amorim must mercilessly remove the young defender from the starting lineup for the Premier League matchup next weekend.
While a switch to a back four with Luke Shaw in his more comfortable position would be ideal, Shaw or Diogo Dalot could play as the left wing-back instead.
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