Soccer-Iwobi late show earns Fulham rare win at Old Trafford


Soccer Football - Premier League - Manchester United v Fulham - Old Trafford, Manchester, Britain - February 24, 2024 Fulham's Alex Iwobi in action with Manchester United's Diogo Dalot REUTERS/Carl Recine

MANCHESTER, England (Reuters) -Alex Iwobi scored deep in stoppage time as Fulham shocked a sub-par Manchester United 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday, the London side's first win at Old Trafford since 2003 and only their second since 1963.

United, who lost for the first time in six league matches, are sixth in the table on 44 points, eight behind fourth-placed Aston Villa. Fulham are 12th on 32 points.

"I'm over the moon right now to come back into the team and get the win here -- there is no better feeling," Iwobi said. "We feel we performed really well and have been performing really well recently, it is just about getting the results."

Fulham struck first in the 65th minute, when Calvin Bassey fired his own rebound into the roof of the net for his first goal for the Cottagers.

The home team looked set to salvage a point when Harry Maguire equalised in the 89th minute with a half volley from inside the penalty area after the ball came off keeper Bernd Leno.

But Iwobi, who earlier squandered two good chances, swept a shot past Andre Onana into the bottom corner in the 97th minute following a counter-attack to leave United fans shell-shocked.

"It is a big win for us," Fulham manager Marco Silva told the BBC. "A great feeling for our fans, who were loud from the first to the last whistle. The players deserved it, clearly the best team won the game.

"We were the team which played better, created more chances and had more control of the game," he added. "It is a fantastic feeling for us to come here and win against a side in a good run of form."

Silva joined his players to celebrate in front of the delirious visiting fans after the final whistle.

United were missing injured striker Rasmus Hojlund, who scored in their six previous league games, and Alejandro Garnacho was their most dangerous forward, with a shot cleared off the line by defender Antonee Robinson and another that Leno pushed away with a diving save.

"We were probably naive in the end by throwing too many bodies forward and getting done on the counterattack," Maguire said. "We've been on a good run of form and came into the game we were confident.

"We got hit by the injury to Rasmus, who has been a big focal point for us, but it is up to us to find the solutions and the areas we need to improve on."

It was Fulham's first away win in the Premier League since their first match of the season at Everton. United have suffered 10 league losses this season, more than in the whole of their 2022-23 campaign.

(Reporting by Lori Ewing, editing by Ed Osmond and Hugh Lawson)

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