Manchester United drew 1-1 at Fulham after Bruno Fernandes missed a first-half penalty and Fulham equalised through Emile Smith Rowe following a deflected Leny Yoro header. The result compounded early-season worries after a 1-0 opening defeat to Arsenal and echoed the previous season's problems of goalkeeping errors, individualistic captaincy, midfield creativity shortfalls and a forward line that struggles to finish. A £200-million summer outlay on Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko increased attacking options but supply to forwards remained limited. Early optimism faded after 180 minutes as structural issues persisted despite heavy recruitment.
An error-prone goalkeeper, a captain who lets himself down by doing too much, midfielders who can't create and a forward line that fails to put the ball into the net. Sound familiar? That was the tale of United's 2024-25 season -- a campaign which ended with their lowest-ever Premier League finish (15th) and worst season overall since 1974 -- but this year was supposed to be different.
Yet after missing a penalty -- Bruno Fernandes skied his first-half spot-kick over the bar -- Man United threw away a second-half lead earned by Leny Yoro's deflected header and were fortunate that Fulham, who equalised through Emile Smith Rowe, did not go on to win the game. A £200-million summer spending spree on forwards Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Benjamin Sesko has certainly given United more pedigree and goal threat than they carried last season, but no forward can score if he doesn't receive the ball.
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