Former midfielder Owen Hargreaves lauded the match-winning clearance of Toby Collyer following Manchester United's 1-0 win over Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday evening.

Taking a 1-0 lead into the closing stages of the contest following Lisandro Martinez's deflected effort after 78 minutes, United were almost forced to settle for a point when Joachim Andersen's header looked destined to nestle in the back of the net.

The Dane rose highest inside the box to flick a left-sided corner towards goal, only to see it expertly headed away by Collyer. United goalkeeper Andre Onana was rooted to the spot and had Collyer not decided to position himself on the line, the home side would have drawn level.

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Collyer, 21, has earned plenty of praise for his recent performances and his heroic goal-line clearance saw him scoop even more, not least from former United midfield ace Hargreaves, who hailed his positioning and awareness.

Speaking on Premier League Productions, Hargreaves said: "You have just got to find a way to win and it wasn't pretty. But with the state that they are in at the moment, you just take three points the best way you can.

"To be fair, thanks to Collyer, that is why they won that game; that header on the line was brilliant. A centre-mid coming on, a young kid, only 21, and he just read it.

"That's all football is at the highest level; you want people to make decisions in big moments. Toby came on and for whatever reason he felt that ball could go there on that corner."

Collyer has featured in each of United's last five matches, starting once, and has leapfrogged Casemiro in the pecking order in the process. United were considering sending the youngster out on loan before the end of the January transfer window but have since shelved that possibility.