Harry Maguire called for a “big reaction” after Manchester United were stunned by a late Fulham winner at Old Trafford.
Alex Iwobi netted in the seventh minute of stoppage time as Fulham snatched a 2-1 Premier League victory on Saturday after it seemed Maguire had salvaged a point for the hosts.
Fulham dominated most of the contest and deservedly led through Calvin Bassey’s 65th-minute strike, but United produced a strong finish.
Maguire equalised when he pounced on a rebound in the 89th minute and Erik Ten Hag’s men were pushing for a late clincher themselves when they were caught on the break and Iwobi finished them off.
The defeat ended United’s four-game winning run in the league and dented their hopes of reaching the top four.
United are back in action when they travel to Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on Wednesday before taking on rivals Manchester City next weekend.
“We know it’s going to be a tough game in midweek,” defender Maguire told MUTV. “Our full focus is on that one. We’ve got to bounce back.
💬 "We didn't do enough over the 90 minutes to get the win."@HarryMaguire93 on the late defeat to Fulham ⤵️#MUFC || #MUNFUL
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 24, 2024
“A big reaction is needed. It’s going to be a tough game but we’ve got to go there and produce a performance like we did there last year.”
Maguire admitted United were caught out in the end but said pushing for the win seemed the right approach at the time.
He said: “This season we’ve scored numerous late goals, numerous late winners. So we had great belief that we were going to go on to win the game.
“Obviously in hindsight, now we can all sit here and say that we should have been more cautious. We were far too naive.
“We can look back and I’m sure we’ll assess it in terms of areas that we can improve on but, ultimately, over the 90 minutes we didn’t do enough to win the game.”
Mid-table Fulham have been inconsistent throughout the season and the victory was only their second in their last six league games.
Yet Iwobi believes the manner of the performance and the way they obtained the result should give them a big confidence boost.
The former Everton and Arsenal midfielder, who recently returned from Africa Cup of Nations duty, told the club’s website, fulhamfc.com: “I’m over the moon right now.
“To come back into the team and get a win now at Old Trafford, big stadium like this – no better feeling and fully deserved as well.
The 97th minute is our new favourite minute. 🤩 pic.twitter.com/ChyiRiaNnS
— Fulham Football Club (@FulhamFC) February 24, 2024
“We feel like we’ve been performing well recently and it’s just about getting the results.
“To do it at Old Trafford – hopefully we can kick on from this. This will give us a world of confidence.
“Everyone’s emotion is going to be high but we have to dust down now and go again.”
