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Manchester United star slammed for not doing “the basics” as teammate outshines him vs Fulham

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One Manchester United star has been slammed for not doing “the basics” as his teammates outshone him during Rúben Amorim’s win over Fulham.

Manchester United secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Fulham on Sunday evening, with Lisandro Martínez’s deflected strike delivering a crucial three points in a tight Premier League contest.

The match saw Fulham dominate early possession, testing André Onana with speculative efforts, while United struggled to make an impact in attack. Amad was kept quiet by an excellent display from Antonee Robinson, who limited the winger’s influence throughout the game.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 78th minute when Martínez’s ambitious shot from distance took a heavy deflection, looping over a stranded Bernd Leno. Amad appeared to seal the win in injury time with a well-taken finish, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

It wasn’t a vintage performance, but Rúben Amorim’s side showed grit to grind out the result, continuing their increasingly consistent run of form, having won four of their six games in 2025.

Højlund slammed for Fulham performance

Although Martínez was afforded a lot of attention after the fixture for multiple reasons, a conversation was had surrounding the performance of Rasmus Højlund in West London.

Many thought that the Danish international had a “nightmare” performance against Fulham, and former United winger Lee Sharpe feels that the 21-year-old is not doing the basics, with Joshua Zirkzee outshining him.

“I think Rasmus Højlund has really struggled,” Sharpe told Texas Poker. “Against Fulham, he was wrestling players, he wasn’t getting hold of the ball and when he tried to lay it off, he just ended up giving it away.

“I watched Joshua Zirkzee play in the same position recently and thought he held the ball up well and brought in players a lot better than Højlund did – he sees passes with one and two touches that I don’t think Højlund sees at the moment.

“I know Zirkzee isn’t an ‘out and out’ number nine, but I still think he’s doing a better job than what Hojlund does at the moment.”

United need a new striker

Further, Sharpe explained that Højlund is failing to do the basics right while his team is under fire, meaning United may need to invest in a new striker sooner rather than later.

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“It can be argued that Højlund takes the brunt of the criticism when his team are not playing well and not scoring goals, but when the team isn’t performing then the first thing you need your centre-forward to do is hold the ball up well to allow other players to get into the game.

“He’s just not doing the basics right at the moment – I know it’s difficult for him up there on his own, but he does need to do better.

“I think the club have to sign another striker. Considering the amount of games each team has to play each season and the nature of running the channels for 90 minutes all the time, they should definitely look to bring in another forward so players like Højlund can share that burden.”

This comes amid a call from Rio Ferdinand for United to sign Napoli striker Victor Osimhen this month.


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