Alex Iwobi's late response surprises Manchester United as Fulham conquers Old Trafford | first division

This shows the “hanger” that Sir Jim Ratcliffe wants manchester united to defeat Manchester City is at the top of a kilometer-high skyscraper and the new owner of 27.7% watches from the ground while, starting in the 88th minute, chaos broke out. It was sealed by Alex Iwobi's 97th-minute winner after Harry Maguire's equalizer canceled out Calvin Bassey's opener.

Iwobi's blow came from the last Fulham breaks to pierce Erik ten Hag's side. Adama Traoré, who came on as a substitute, jumped the box from the right and touched Iwobi. With no United defenders around, he troubled André Onana with a pause and then beat the goalkeeper to his right to get Fulham excited.

This sealed the Cottagers' first win at Old Trafford since 2003 and left United eight points behind Aston Villa in fourth place in the Champions League. As Ten Hag auditions to keep his job from Ratcliffe and former Old Trafford right-hand man Sir Dave Brailsford, qualification for the continent's blue-ribbon competition would help. The director was asked if the deficit can be recovered.

“I said since January that we are in many finals, we won many and now we have lost one,” Ten Hag said. This was the tenth first division defeat of the season. Under Sir Alex Ferguson, the Dutchman's prominent predecessor, this never happened – further evidence of how far they have fallen in the 11 years since his retirement.

Of the exhibition, Ten Hag said: “We could win and we should win. The team showed great character. We had slow starts in both halves. “It was a big loss to lose Casemiro (just after the break), we lost some stability and conceded a goal that was very avoidable and then we counterattacked and showed great character.”

This was Calvin Bassey's first goal, which initially derived from one of the countless counterattacks that United conceded. Harrison Reed launched a diagonal attempt which Onana deflected towards a corner, Andreas Pereira floated in from the right and the ball fell to Bassey. While those in red were sleeping, the center back struck, the ball bounced off Timothy Castagne and he threw it into the roof of the net.

Before this and until the end, the contest was a basketball affair with end-to-end attacks that meant a lack of control on the part of either team. Maguire's shot registered his first goal in the competition this season and came when United looked defeated. Bruno Fernandes put his shoulder in from the left and shot, Bernd Leno saved the ball and there was the former captain to score to the delight of himself and everyone at United.

Nine minutes of added time were then scored and Ten Hag's team initially continued to attack. Scott McTominay fired wide from the right and Leno repelled a Fernandes shot from 25 yards into a corner. Amad Diallo came close but moments later United's thin structure was exposed as Fulham broke through to claim the spoils thanks to Iwobi's calm winner.

Once again, Ten Hag's plans were shattered by injuries to their top scorer, Rasmus Højlund, and another star player, Luke Shaw. But, as he stated, this cannot be an excuse, as being able to function when replacements are selected is part of operating as a high-functioning team.

“With the team we had today we should have won this game,” Ten Hag said. “Both halves were slow starts and we should be ready from the first whistle. “That is a point of criticism, but the team showed great character in both halves.”

Casemiro fell after a clash of heads with Reed. McTominay came on and Omari Forson was replaced by Christian Eriksen. The 19-year-old's full debut ended after a disappointing 52 minutes. Eriksen's opening bid was a clumsy pass straight to Iwobi – apt shorthand for United this afternoon, who were an uncoordinated group whose forays too often failed.

During the week, Ratcliffe made his statement, also including Liverpool. Ten Hag moved away as he assessed the direction of the side below him. “After a defeat you have to look at the big picture and the big picture looks very good,” the coach said. “You see there are a lot of good players coming up and high-potential players, who will improve, so we're definitely going in the right direction,” he said.

It sounds like a plea for mercy from Ratcliffe. As Fulham's Marco Silva said of him: “The best team won.”