A third defeat in five home matches did nothing to lift the pressure on Fulham manager Martin Jol. Here’s how we rated his players in their 3-1 loss against the champions.
Maarten Stekelenburg: 5
Left exposed for all three United goals. Was generally shaky though, doing little to inspire confidence in his struggling back four.
Sascha Riether: 5
Always eager to get forward from right-back but at times would have been more useful tucking in and offering his team some much-needed cover through the middle. Fortunate not to be sent off after appearing to stamp on Adnan Januzaj late on.
Philippe Senderos: 4
A truly diabolical performance by the defender, who was all over the place. Woefully slow to react for all United’s goals, particularly when allowing Robin van Persie to sneak away from him in the build-up to the second.
Fernando Amorebieta: 5
After an impressive start to his Fulham career, Amorebieta has been given a couple of lessons in just how unforgiving the Premier League can be. Not helped by his hapless centre-back partner, the Venezuelan’s positioning was consistently poor and he was caught napping for the third goal in particular.
Kieran Richardson: 5
Had a day to forget against his former club. Struggled at both ends of the pitch, was Awol for the third goal and missed a good chance to score in the second half.
Ashkan Dejagah: 5
His return to fitness is a welcome boost for Fulham but he was unable to make an impact before being replaced by Alex Kacaniklic in the second half.
Scott Parker: 7
Emerged with some credit on a bad day for his team. Dispossessed in the build-up to the second goal but was arguably fouled. Otherwise was neat and tidy on the ball and created a good chance for Dimitar Berbatov.
Steve Sidwell: 7
Also did well. United had the freedom of the flanks and moved Fulham’s centre-backs around at will, but they didn’t have things all their own way in the centre of midfield as Sidwell and Parker dug in.
Pajtim Kasami: 7
Fulham’s biggest goal threat for much of the game. Tried his luck with a long-range effort in the first half, always looked to create openings and was involved in making the late chance for Richardson.
Bryan Ruiz: 5
Few expect Ruiz to be workmanlike – it’s just not his game. But any player should be expected to do the basics and the Costa Rican’s total lack of willingness to press United’s defenders allowed the visitors to sweep the ball forward far too easily, putting Fulham under constant pressure.
Dimitar Berbatov: 5
Another whose failure to defend from the front left the Whites vulnerable throughout. Missed a couple of decent chances too.
Alex Kacaniklic: 6
Had a go after coming on. Scored with the help of a deflection and set up Richardson with a good cross from the left.
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This post was last modified on 03/11/2013