Lisandro Martínez has form for putting his laces through the ball to help Ruben Amorim and Manchester United on the road. Remember his roof-of-the-net banger in the 2-2 Premier League draw at Liverpool? The central defender was at it again here and if there was a slice of luck about his late winner, one to blow open a previously dismal spectacle, it did nothing to dampen the celebrations.

There is a case to be made as Amorim feels his way into the Impossible Job at Old Trafford, encountering so many problems, that his team is shaping up OK away from home. United’s best performances under him have been at the grounds of their biggest rivals: Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City.

Related: Fulham v Manchester United: Premier League – live

United tend to do well at Craven Cottage and Martínez made it happen for them, running on to a loose ball, trying his luck and watching it loop up off the Fulham midfielder, Sasa Lukic, and dip into the far, top corner. It was United’s only shot on target. They had just four attempts.

Martínez had got away with a stamping tackle on the Fulham substitute, Adama Traoré, in the 61st minute – the referee, Anthony Taylor, took no action – and United would survive an almighty scare in the 89th minute. When Joachim Andersen rose to meet a corner, the header was true, only Toby Collyer, on as a substitute, made a stunning goalline clearance. The replays showed that the ball was directly on the line when Collyer headed it away.

United would be denied themselves at the very last, Amad Diallo finishing smartly only for the VAR to pull him back over a hairline offside, but they did not care. It was not pretty; purely about grinding out the result. And, at last, enjoying a few breaks because another Fulham substitute, Rodrigo Muniz, had blasted high when well placed before Diallo’s disallowed goal.

Martínez was the hero, but the more you rewatched his challenge on Traoré, the more it became clear that on another day, he might not have stayed on the field. The Argentine has made this type of action before – he stamped in with both feet on Crystal Palace’s Daichi Kamada last September, escaping with a yellow card, having got the ball. On this occasion, PGMOL said Martínez’s challenge did not meet the threshold for a red card.

Martínez and Traoré have history from the meeting between the clubs at Old Trafford in the first game of the season, the pair having exchanged digs afterwards. “I sent him to the gym, no?” Martínez said. “Don’t worry, we will meet again,” Traoré replied.

The clash between the pair was a rare moment to quicken the pulses here, the second-half meandering, waiting for its moment. Very little had happened, in the first period, too; United’s travails epitomised by those of Rasmus Højlund.

The striker provided United’s out-ball, but it was easy to feel from an early juncture that it would be another one of those extended wrestling bouts for him – in which he tends not to prevail. Højlund’s first touch is increasingly under the microscope and so, more broadly, is his suitability to play with his back to goal. His Denmark teammate, Andersen, was a strong-arm foe.

Alejandro Garnacho had one first-half burst that saw him beat Harry Wilson and play in the overlapping Noussair Mazraoui, whose cross was easily cleared. That was pretty much it from United before the interval.

Fulham had been positive in the opening 20 minutes. Alex Iwobi was lively on the left and he forced a low save out of André Onana after Højlund had failed to hold up the ball for the first time. Raúl Jiménez thought he had wriggled through before Matthijs de Ligt stopped him; Martínez would do likewise to Emile Smith Rowe. Iwobi banged another shot at Onana. Jiménez might have done better after a flowing move on 39 minutes. By then, though, the drudgery had set in.

When Amorim made his first substitutions on 58 minutes, it was only fair that he put Højlund out of his misery. It was hard to remember anything going right for the striker. On came Joshua Zirkzee.

Moments earlier, Bruno Fernandes had zipped a free-kick from a promising position on the left-hand edge of the area underneath the defensive wall and into the side-net. It was close, although the best bit was how Onana had come out of his goal and up the left wing to offer advice to his captain. Maybe Onana just craved some involvement.

Fulham had lost Wilson to an injury, Traoré replacing him and we just waited for something. Primetime TV entertainment this was not. Was a draw acceptable for both teams? Manuel Ugarte was finally booked for a late one on Traoré, having got away with a couple in the first-half and, if that merited a mention … well, at least it was something. Martínez’s goal was certainly that.