Neville brands Manchester United 'pathetic' after 1-1 draw at Fulham

WHAT HAPPENED
Gary Neville delivered a blistering assessment of Manchester United after Lisandro Martínez's own goal put Fulham ahead just over an hour into a match United eventually salvaged 1-1 thanks to Matheus Cunha's deflected strike in the 89th minute. Neville said: "I've watched Manchester United since the age of five and that's the worst 15 minutes I've ever seen. Absolutely pathetic. I've never seen such a lack of effort. What must [Michael] Carrick be thinking?"

REACTIONS
Interim manager Michael Carrick rejected the suggestion fitness was behind the display, pointing to the way his side finished the game as evidence: "The way we finished the game, actually, it didn't look like that. We finished the game really strong actually, and kept pushing. I don't think that's an issue, no." Cunha, meanwhile, said Fulham had shown more energy at the start of the second half: "At the beginning of the second half they put in more energy than us. We cannot accept this." The striker also referred to the wider "noise" surrounding United after the match.

Crowd reaction underlined fan frustration: supporters booed Carrick's decision to substitute Kobbie Mainoo 11 minutes from time, although Carrick said he had spoken to Mainoo and the player was "absolutely fine." Carrick praised the supporters' backing through the game and said the late equaliser gave them "something small at the end to take from it."

CONTEXT
The draw moved Fulham off the foot of the Premier League, swapping places with Tottenham. United have taken five points from five games and sit 12th, ten points behind leaders Manchester City. The result follows a difficult week for United, which included a derby defeat to City and a home loss to Brighton after surrendering a two-goal lead.

Squad availability was also noted: summer signing Carlos Baleba is yet to make his debut, Matthijs de Ligt was not involved despite travelling with the squad, and striker Benjamin Šeško missed the game due to a recurrence of a shin problem that had previously kept him out for more than three months. Pre-season comments from Youri Tielemans, who said United were not prioritising running, are part of the broader discussion around the squad's preparedness.