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Calvin Bassey, the scorer of the goal, believed that Fulham displayed a greater desire to win than Manchester United, resulting in their unexpected victory at Old Trafford.
Alex Iwobi scored a goal in the seventh minute of stoppage time, securing a dramatic 2-1 victory for the Cottagers over United in the Premier League on Saturday. The late goal ended United’s comeback attempt and sealed the win for the Cottagers.
Fulham seemed to be on track for a well-deserved win thanks to Bassey’s goal, but United made a strong comeback and Harry Maguire’s 89th minute goal appeared to secure a draw for the hosts.
However, even though United made efforts to score a late winning goal, they were ultimately caught off guard by a counter-attack and Iwobi took advantage to secure his team’s first victory at Old Trafford since 2003.
Defender Bassey stated that it would not be possible to simply come and overpower the team, after scoring his first goal for the club. He acknowledged the high level of skill possessed by their opponents.
“They have got top players and a top manager and players that can have an effect off the bench, but we were just at it more and I felt we wanted it more. That showed in the way we played.
“The equaliser was a bit frustrating, but considering our efforts to tie the game at 1-1, our focus shifted to making sure we didn’t leave empty-handed. Fortunately, we were given an opportunity and were able to capitalize on it.”
Fulham, who are currently in the middle of the league standings, secured their second win in their past six matches. This season has been marked by inconsistency, but Bassey is optimistic that the team has turned a corner.
The Nigerian player expressed their satisfaction with winning the game and hopes to maintain this positive energy.
The outcome halted United’s streak of four consecutive wins in the league and hindered their chances of making it to the top four.
Maguire believes the team must address the issue promptly, before their upcoming FA Cup match against Nottingham Forest and the derby against Manchester City next weekend.
The center-back for England stated on MUTV: “We are aware that the upcoming game in the middle of the week will be challenging. Our primary focus is on that match and we must recover from our previous performance.”
“We need a strong response. It will be a challenging match, but we have to go out there and deliver a performance like we did last year.”
Maguire acknowledged that United was ultimately taken by surprise by Fulham, but stated that striving for victory appeared to be the correct strategy at the moment.
He stated that this season, our team has scored many goals in the final minutes and won numerous games in the same situation. This gave us a strong belief that we would also win this game.
Looking back, it is clear that we should have been more careful and less trusting.
I am certain that upon reflection, we will evaluate our performance and identify areas where we can make improvements. However, in the end, we simply did not do enough during the entire 90 minutes to secure a victory.
Source: independent.co.uk
