Manchester United moved up to 12th in the Premier League table with a scrappy 1-0 win at Fulham earned via a late Lisandro Martinez goal.

It had been a terrible game that lacked any attacking quality until Martinez finally broke the deadlock. The centre-back deserved credit for getting in front of Rodrigo Muniz to win possession and having been encouraged to join the attack of late, he strode forward and tried his luck. His shot took a deflection off Sasa Lukic and looped over Bernd Leno.

Fulham had offered little threat of their own during the game but came close to an equaliser when Joachim Andersen headed goalwards from a corner, only for Toby Collyer to head off the line and preserve United's clean sheet and earn an eighth Premier League win of the season.

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Attack

There was just half an hour on the clock at Craven Cottage when the away end launched into a chant of 'attack, attack, attack attack attack'. It just about summed the proceedings up.

With a third of the game gone, United hadn't had a shot and that record barely improved across the 90 minutes. It was a performance lacking any real bite in attack and one that United will feel they got away with.

That away end had given up their Sunday for this anti-social kick-off and they did not like what they were seeing. They finally got a moment they deserved late on, but it was a tough watch at times.

United looked better defensively, and they are starting to improve in that area of the pitch. Now, the challenge is to develop more of an attacking threat to their game.

Throw-in mess

When United got a throw in an attacking position just before half-time, Bruno Fernandes ordered Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt to go up and when Carlos Fernandes stood on the edge of the technical area, it was clear this was a set-piece worked on in training. Maguire took up a position off the pitch, ready to run on and get a better leap for his flick-on, which showed there was a plan there.

The plan didn't involve Diogo Dalot running up for a long throw and then going backwards instead. On the opposite side of the pitch, Carlos Fernandes shrugged his shoulders. That wasn't in the plan.

Hojlund's wrath

The game was less than five minutes old when Rasmus Hojlund had a pop at Andre Onana, telling him not to clip long balls up for him to challenge for with the imposing Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey. Andersen had already let Hojlund know he was there a couple of times and he seemed intent on bullying his international teammate, whose strengths and weaknesses he would have been well aware of.

There is a sense that Hojlund can be bullied in physical, aerial battles, and while his hold-up play is improving, he is better at getting the ball into feet, with a centre-back behind him, than in the air to challenge for. He told Onana as much. It was the second time already that an aimless pass towards Hojlund simply resulted in a turnover of possession.

Amorim chants

Amorim had told United fans that he didn't want them to sing about him, but instead to direct that support to the players. At the moment, they are ignoring those instructions.

If the supporters had a better relationship with those players, then maybe it would be different, but at a time of near-crisis it is the man in the dugout they are backing over players that they feel have let them down time and time again.

The away end at Craven Cottage was in fine voice for a kick-off time that filled nobody with enthusiasm, and they spent the first 20 minutes singing almost exclusively about Amorim. After a lengthy rendition of 'Amorim's red and white army', it was time for Amorim's own song. Those supporters made it clear where their loyalties lie.