• Man Utd beat Fulham 1-0 on Sunday evening in the Premier League
  • Lisandro Martinez's deflected strike secured important win at Craven Cottage
  • Result lifts Man Utd to 12th in the table as Cottagers stay in tenth

Manchester United secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham on Sunday evening courtesy of Lisandro Martinez's deflected strike.

Fulham narrowly shaded a stodgy and insipid first half but struggled to get the home faithful out of their seats often. Those in the away end were similarly underwhelmed by their side's lethargy in the final third as United failed to even test Bernd Leno before the interval.

The second half was similarly slow-paced but Martinez produced the defining moment for the Red Devils in the 78th minute as his deflected effort earned Ruben Amorim some breathing space and lifted United to 12th in the Premier League.

How the game unfolded

Neither team came racing out of the blocks at Craven Cottage but it was Fulham who forged the most promising openings during the early stages. Alex Iwobi twice called Andre Onana into routine saves and Emile Smith Rowe was denied by Martinez's last-ditch block after United surrendered possession in their own half.

The travelling supporters voiced their frustrations at their side's lack of attacking inspiration on the half-hour mark as Fulham's defence stifled the likes of Amad Diallo and Alejandro Garnacho with little fuss. Rasmus Hojlund managed just 17 touches during the first half - fewer than Onana - while United didn't have their first attempt on goal until the 42nd minute.

Bruno Fernandes provided United's first moment of invention after the restart as his free-kick glided under the Fulham wall and into the side netting, with Amorim soon turning to his bench in search of ingenuity. Joshua Zirkzee entered the fray just before the hour mark hoping to produce another match-winner against the Cottagers having scored a debut strike in the reverse fixture.

The Dutchman certainly didn't make an immediate impact for United as they continued to make hard work of their trip to the capital. Adama Traore almost made their evening worse with 15 minutes to spare but the Fulham substitute blazed an encouraging opening over the crossbar.

It felt as if a moment of genius or a stroke of luck would decide a drab affair and the latter proved United's saviour in the 78th minute. Martinez's long-range effort took an enormous deflection off Fulham midfielder Sasa Lukic before spiralling beyond Leno's reach and into the top corner.

Fulham looked unlikely to produce an equaliser but did have the odd chance in the dying embers. Toby Collyer cleared off the line from Joachim Andersen's header before Rodrigo Muniz fired over the crossbar from close range. The Brazilian will have been frustrated not to have done better.

Amad thought he had wrapped up victory in stoppage time as he nestled a shot into the bottom corner, but United had to settle for a one-goal victory after VAR ruled out the forward's strike for a marginal offside.