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Michael Carrick must find answer to imminent problem as Man Utd survive Fulham shocker

Manchester United appeared to have thrown away two points against Fulham at Old Trafford after Michael Carrick's side lost a 2-0 lead before Benjamin Sesko saved the day

[Michael Carrick]

Manchester United were far from convincing against Fulham(Image: Getty Images)

Benjamin Sesko saved Manchester United's blushes as he bounced off the bench to score an injury-time winner after the hosts had squandered a two-goal lead against Fulham.

Magic from either side of half-time from Casemiro put United 2-0 up in a game that looked set to go on and win in second gear, until a late Fulham fightback saw Raul Jimenez convert a penalty to set up a nervous finish at Old Trafford. Kevin then crowned his glory moment in the Premier League with a whipped effort into the top corner to seemingly rescue Fulham a point in added time before Benjamin Sesko saved the day.

After a dream start to life in the job, Carrick had to prove that he could set-up and motivate a United side to take on a very different task to the heated atmosphere and rivalry of Manchester City and Arsenal.

[Sesko celebrates]

Benjamin Sesko bounced off the bench to rescue Manchester United

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The visit of Fulham saw Carrick forced into his first starting line-up change following Patrick Dorgus hamstring injury suffered late on after his stunning goal against Arsenal. Matheus Cunha deservedly came into the team after his heroics against City and Arsenal off the bench.

Carrick named an unchanged team for the trip to north London last Sunday following the Derby victory. While it took 37 games for Ruben Amorim to name an unaltered side during his time in the job.

It also meant that Uniteds midfielder two of Casemiro and Kobbie Mainoo started their third consecutive game together. While the latter has been rejuvenated after Amorims shackles have been taken off him, the former leaves United looking to fill a major hole in the summer after it was confirmed the Brazilian veteran would leave the club at the end of his contract.

[Casemiro]

Casemiro showed Manchester United fans what they will be missing next season(Image: Getty Images)

Not even 12 months ago, Casemiro looked like a major problem for United but his reborn performances this season continued as the midfielder towered over Jorge Cuenca to head in the only goal of the first-half.

Cuenca thought he had been reprieved in the build-up when the original decision of penalty, after he brought down Cunha in the box, was overturned after the defender won the ball. However, the decision was changed to a free-kick with the initial contact a foul.

While he and Fulham breathed a sigh of relief, Bruno Fernandes dinked the free-kick in towards the far post, where Casemiro jumped highest.

In the second half, the 33-year-old showed his class again as his no-look pass threaded the ball through for Cunha to run through and smash an effort into the roof of the net to double Uniteds advantage.

[Sesko goal]

Sesko's brilliant finish rescued the three points(Image: Getty Images)

United looked to be heading towards a third successive win under Carrick in good fashion but Cuenca couldnt keep himself out of the game as he slammed home a scrappy goal from close range to seemingly halve the deficit. However, after a mammoth VAR review, Samuel Chukwueze was adjudged to have been offside in the build-up.

Casemiro was replaced by Manuel Ugarte to resounding applause from the United faithful. United already look a player short in midfield, and Casemiro will be a key miss in his current form. Carrick might be forced to trust Ugarte or teenager Jack Fletcher over the remainder of the campaign to test their mettle.

The midfield issue became even more prominent when Sander Berge was allowed the space of Old Trafford to feed a pass through to Raul Jimenez. The Mexican saw his effort saved by Senne Lammens but was wiped out by Harry Maguire in the process. Jimenez stepped up to score the penalty and set up a nervous final five minutes.

Fulham mounted the pressure on the rocked hosts and Kevin appeared to deliver the knockout blow with his first league goal in the 92nd minute when he whipped a sensational effort into the far top corner from the edge of the box.

United looked to have squandered another chance to climb into the top four but Sesko off the bench curled an unstoppable strike into the top corner just minutes later to pull the iron out of the fire.

After 12 minutes of added time were played, the final-time whistle went to the relief of everyone connected with the hosts. The Reds will end the weekend in fourth.

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