{"id":370602,"date":"2025-08-24T20:41:11","date_gmt":"2025-08-24T20:41:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/370602\/"},"modified":"2025-08-24T20:41:11","modified_gmt":"2025-08-24T20:41:11","slug":"emile-smith-rowes-instant-impact-for-fulham-denies-manchester-united-premier-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/370602\/","title":{"rendered":"Emile Smith Rowe\u2019s instant impact for Fulham denies Manchester United | Premier League"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ruben Amorim\u2019s initial response to Manchester United<\/a> executives\u2019 attempts last autumn to woo him was asking to wait until the summer. He wanted time and space to gain full knowledge of the club and their players.<\/p>\n

The season-opening games this month were supposed to be the start, a time to be properly judged. Instead, a hangover from nine months of muddle casts shadows over attempts this season at rebooting.<\/p>\n

After Rodrigo Muniz\u2019s own goal, first claimed by Leny Yoro for United, Craven Cottage was those nine previous months in microcosm, Amorim\u2019s team unable to put their opponent away, and shy in front of goal. Bruno Fernandes\u2019s uncharacteristic first-half penalty miss was redolent of a team full of psychological as well as tactical and personnel problems. United began well, only for confidence to drain as a capable, muscular opponent met their measure. Emile Smith Rowe stole in to equalise after 94 seconds on the pitch; Fulham<\/a> fully deserving their share of spoils.<\/p>\n

Amorim afterwards blamed his team\u2019s goal for contributing to Fulham\u2019s equaliser. \u201cI think we scored the goal and then we forgot about how we play,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

How long is a developmental phase allowed to take at a club of such short patience? Amorim awaits the shifting of his \u2018bomb squad\u2019 to free transfer money to fit his specifications. Altay Bayindir continued in goal, Andr\u00e9 Onana on the bench with Antwerp\u2019s Senne Lammens reportedly incoming. Mason Mount at false nine suggested Benjamin Sesko remains short of readiness.<\/p>\n

As a club doing minimal transfer business so far, Fulham looked far more settled. Muniz, Fulham\u2019s saviour last week at Brighton, was starting, the expectation now the Brazilian stays, Atalanta\u2019s interest cooled. As at Brighton, Josh King was trusted by Silva for the ball-carrying, darting runs that impressed once more.<\/p>\n

Matheus Cunha, who scored two superb goals for Wolves last November at the Cottage, might have scored twice in his new team\u2019s rousing start, first driving over the bar, next striking a post from Mount\u2019s stabbed pass. Such momentum continued for the opening 20 minutes. When would United\u2019s first goal of the season come? Leno was adding to a growing sense of frustration.<\/p>\n

By then, Fulham were showing signs of danger, King sent away and Bayindir\u2019s slidden save a fillip to fragile confidence. From Fulham\u2019s first corner, another test of nerve, but the Turk nervously smothered Alex Iwobi\u2019s shot. From a second corner came a flap, Bayindir nowhere near the ball. It is hardly a positive sign when any ball near a goalkeeper draws gasps.<\/p>\n

Leny Yoro celebrates a goal later credited to Fulham\u2019s Rodrigo Muniz. Photograph: Shaun Brooks\/CameraSport\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Bryan Mbeumo\u2019s battle with Calvin Bassey left Fulham\u2019s man with the upper hand. Mbeumo, a considerable physical specimen himself, struggled with Bassey\u2019s wardrobe-like bulk and deceptive pace. Bassey versus Mount was far less of a fair fight and United were awarded a video-assisted penalty for a challenge that, on second inspection, resembled the clearing out of a rugby union ruck. Perhaps that inspired Fernandes to lash the spot-kick over the bar when his usual technique is to stroke the ball home. That Amorim did not dare to watch the kick hardly suggested much confidence.<\/p>\n

Leno was at least asked to make a save from Amad Diallo\u2019s shot in United\u2019s first attack of the second half in which Sesko was soon introduced.<\/p>\n

Joachim Andersen\u2019s robust challenge of the first 50-50 soon let Sesko know he was facing a physical battle. Attacking the back post from a corner, perhaps the giant Slovene\u2019s run proved a distraction for United\u2019s scrambled goal. It also appeared Yoro had given Bassey a push, to further reduce the popularity ratings of Chris Kavanagh, the referee. \u201cEverybody in the world saw what happened,\u201d said Marco Silva, who smirked afterwards at the very idea of the decision being debatable.<\/p>\n

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Silva\u2019s own changes proved decisive. From Iwobi\u2019s cross, Ra\u00fal Jim\u00e9nez\u2019s fresh-air shot served as a decoy for Smith Rowe to speed beyond a flat-footed Matthijs de Ligt, Bayindir left helplessly unprotected but still diving the wrong way. \u201cI know when Alex [Iwobi] gets the ball, I know his trademark cross and I have to be there to finish,\u201d said Smith Rowe, looking much improved from his peripheral impact last season.<\/p>\n

Sesko, meanwhile, was struggling to get a touch. Amorim said: \u201cIt\u2019s not easy to get. Sometimes you are on the bench and you go to the game and the game is really fast. I think he understands that the game is even faster than in the Bundesliga, but he\u2019s fighting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Further shades of United last season came as Harry Maguire was thrown on as a late substitute, as a series of corners were forced. It almost worked, too, when the central defender climbed highest above a melee to nod wide. \u201cI forget about last season,\u201d Amorim said, despite so many echoes.<\/p>\n

Fulham mounted their own set\u2011piece campaign, the early evening sun in their eyes creating problems for United\u2019s defenders. A corner in added time left Bayindir in no-man\u2019s land, only for Andersen to miss. A match low on sophistication had been reduced to a physical wrestle, the result and its manner doing little to point to the progressive future for Amorim\u2019s United he and those executives envisaged last autumn.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ruben Amorim\u2019s initial response to Manchester United executives\u2019 attempts last autumn to woo him was asking to wait…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":370603,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8813],"tags":[748,393,4884,2465,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-370602","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-manchester","8":"tag-britain","9":"tag-england","10":"tag-great-britain","11":"tag-manchester","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115085684483496898","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=370602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/370602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/370603"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=370602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=370602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=370602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}