Manchester United given boost by 'lucky' win but Ruben Amorim’s side remain unconvincing | OneFootball

“They were lucky to win tonight,” Marco Silva said after Fulham’s 1-0 defeat to Manchester United. As spiky as this might sound - although it was nothing compared to Ruben Amorim’s comments around Marcus Rashford - the United manager wasn’t disagreeing. The difference was that Amorim said his team were due “that bit of luck” after so many matches where it was “the opposite”. He might finally think things are going United’s way. A deflection, a decision, a result. Maybe even a run. This victory, courtesy of Lisandro Martinez’s wildly diverted strike, even feels like it breaks the January boom-bust cycle where any positive was immediately followed by a negative. Amorim has now won two games in a row for the first time in 10. That still hasn’t happened for United in the league but that also touches on the wider point of this win: it gives hope, steadily increasing confidence that bit more. “Let’s get this feeling to the next game,” Amorim said.

It wouldn’t be United right now, however, without some other headlines. Although Amorim seemed content and relaxed after the game, even joking about his 40th birthday on Monday feels like his 50th, he shocked everyone in Fulham’s media room with his strongest comments on Rashford yet. After a game where United had again been lacking in attack, the Portuguese was naturally asked about whether his England international would ever return to the side. Rashford has been missing for 11 games.

Amorim left no one in any doubt about his feelings, though. He said he would rather put his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach, Jorge Vital, on the bench than a player that doesn’t “give the maximum”.

“It’s always the same reason,” Amorim stated when asked. “The reasons is the training, the way I see what a footballer should do. In training, in life and it’s every day, every detail. So if things don’t change, I will not change.”

Amorim was then asked to clarify whether Rashford would face the same situation if he is still at United at the end of the window.

“It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player. And you can see it today on the bench – we miss a little bit of pace to go, to change the game, to move some pieces but I prefer like that. I will put Vital before I put a player that don’t give the maximum every day so I will not change in that.”

There is the danger of a real impasse, since Rashford only wants to go to a club that he feels suits him, and right now that is only Juventus and Barcelona. The latter can’t even do a deal this January due to their own financial issues.

It wasn’t the only controversy of the evening.

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Lisandro Martinez celebrates his goal for Manchester United at Fulham (PA Wire)

Fulham might argue Martinez’s effort shouldn’t have happened at all. Before his 78th-minute strike, the Argentine could have been sent off for a two-footed stamp as Adama Traore ran at goal. The explanation was that it didn’t meet the threshold for VAR to step in, but it’s hard to know what the defender was thinking in going in like that. There was a similar moment against Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada earlier in the season, that also went unpunished.

Marco Silva, for his part, said he didn’t see it. Amorim made light, but also defended his player.

“I cannot spend two months saying we need to be too aggressive and fight more and then say Licha don't fight. The important thing is Licha doesn't want to hurt another player. He's committed.”

He then stayed on and let fly.

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Amad Diallo scored again but his effort was ruled out by VAR for offside (Getty Images)

There was something else notable about the goal, in-keeping with how it was one of few moments of action in the game and relevant to the Rashford situation. It was United’s first shot on target, and even that is open to question given it took a defender’s touch to take it into the net. Marco Silva made a point of stating that statistic after the game.

That does reflect the remaining and consistent issues. Amorim doesn’t have this attack anywhere close to what he wants from it. The fact they go so long in games without even testing goalkeepers is a concern. It has all the hallmarks of a manager trying to impose a structure and the squad gradually learning to internalise it. That can be a slow process, though, as we’ve seen. Some of it is actually reminiscent of Maurizio Sarri’s Chelsea.

It is why United are crying out for pace up front, but Amorim evidently isn’t going to use Rashford’s any time soon. At least without “change”, as he puts it.

His side is consequently going to be even more dependent on Amad Diallo for that release. The Ivorian again scored a late goal here, but that was ruled out as he had strayed fractionally offside. He could badly do with more support. Rasmus Hojlund is currently struggling. Joshua Zirkzee did at least display some good link-up play on coming on. United clearly need more force and magic there, though.

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Toby Collyer cleared Joachim Andersen's headed effort off the line (Getty Images)

Traore could even have been seen as the game’s dominant attacker, given how his runs so stretched the pitch and consistently changed the tone of the game.

Such incursions led to another moment of luck for United, but also admirable timing. In the final moments, Joachim Andersen diverted a fine header towards goal, only for Toby Collyer to head it away from almost behind the line. His teammates vigorously congratulated him as if it was a goal.

It felt like more. It secured a win, that was so badly needed.

That’s how thin the margins are. Amorim will feel they are due it. They need more, as they now approach a last week of the transfer window where an awful lot can happen.