SUPER Eagles stars Alex Iwobi and Calvin Bassey were at the receiving end of a painful defeat today as their Fulham side lost 1-0 to Manchester United at Craven Cottage.
With both Nigeria internationals starting for the hosts and putting in decent shifts in the Premier League early kick-off, Fulham held on until stoppage time before conceding.
Bruno Fernandes scored the only goal in the 91st minute as Manchester United laboured to the narrow victory that ended their run of two consecutive home defeats to Manchester City in the league and Newcastle United in the Carabao Cup.
Fulham were lucky early on as Manchester United’s goal was controversially chalked off.
Scott McTominay bundled home from close range in the eighth minute from a free-kick but after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) check, the goal was ruled out for ‘subjective offside’, with Harry Maguire adjudged to be interfering with play from an offside position.
The ‘goal’ was the highlight of a tepid first half in which both sides failed to create any meaningful scoring opportunities, with only one shot on target.
Fulham increased the intensity after the break and ventured forward more, with Iwobi becoming increasingly involved and Bassey keeping Manchester United’s £75m striker Rasmus Hojlund mostly quiet.
The hosts looked like the most likely side to snatch a late goal as United became more uncoordinated as the minutes ticked, but it was the visitors who found the net and clinched the three points.
After Fulham failed to properly clear the ball that was pinballing in their box, it fell to Fernandes on the edge of the area and he feinted past two defenders before placing it beyond the reach of a desperately diving Bernt Leno.
Iwobi, who was making his fifth Premier League start since joining Fulham from Everton in the summer, played for 89 minutes while Bassey featured for all 90 plus added time.
With the result, Manchester United moved up temporarily to sixth place in the table, while Fulham are 14th.
