Manchester United's mini-revival appears to have been built on sand after all, as it took just a couple of injuries for Erik ten Hag's side to sink to their first defeat of 2024 as they were beaten 2-1 at home by a Fulham side who had not won away since the opening day of the season.
Missing the in-form Rasmus Hojlund and the dependable Luke Shaw, United made a flat start and failed to score in the first half for the first time in eight matches. Diogo Dalot struck the post, but Fulham looked more dangerous, with Alex Iwobi missing the target twice and Rodrigo Muniz hitting a post.
Fulham deservedly took the lead early in the second half through a thumping effort from Calvin Bassey, and United had only half-chances to score until Harry Maguire stabbed home from close-range in the 89th minute. With nine minutes added on and Bruno Fernandes whipping up the crowd, Fulham were prepared for an onslaught.
But instead it was the Londoners who had the last laugh, Iwobi making it third time lucky and slotting into the bottom corner after United were too slow to shut down a visiting counter-attack.
Ten Hag's side are now eight points adrift of fourth-placed Aston Villa and could be six behind Tottenham in fifth if Spurs win their game in hand, giving them a mountain to climb if they want to qualify for the Champions League.
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