adminMANCHESTER — Darren Bent’s last-gasp equaliser left Manchester United shattered after the champions thought they had saved themselves from another desperate day as Fulham piled more misery on David Moyes at Old Trafford last night.Trailing to Steve Sidwell’s first-half opener, United’s search for redemption lasted until the 79th minute before Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick struck within the space of 120 seconds to turn the match on its head.
Carrick’s goal brought Wayne Rooney to his knees in celebration and had manager Moyes punching the air with relief. But the celebrations were cut short in the fourth minute of stoppage time as David de Gea turned away Kieran Richardson’s shot, but sent the ball straight into the path of substitute Bent who nodded into an empty net for an incredible 2-2 draw.
Now it was former United assistant Rene Meulensteen’s turn to punch the air as his side, rock bottom of the Barclays Premier League and five points adrift of safety at kick-off, snatched a precious point.
For Moyes and United, now nine points away from a Champions League place, a hellish season just keeps getting worse. And, with a visit to Arsenal on Wednesday, there is no end to the trouble in sight.
Moyes admitted in the build-up that Meulensteen knew more about the home players than he did, something that can only be expected after spending six years as Sir Alex Ferguson’s assistant until last summer.
What was less obvious was the Dutchman’s method of taking advantage of that inside knowledge. In axing Scott Parker and Brede Hangeland and placing his faith in 18-year-old debutant Muamer Tankovic and midfielder Ryan Tunnicliffe, he was injecting his side with vitality so obviously lacking over an eight-game run that brought just a single win.
So while the visitors required a scrapper’s instinct to survive the inevitable bombardment, it meant they had the pace to exert pressure on their hosts when the counter-attacking opportunities came.
Lewis Holtby was the inspiration behind the visitors’ opener. Allowed far too much room to advance down the left flank, Holtby was able to drop a superb cross into the heart of United’s penalty area. — Mailonline.
Online Reporter