With a tenacious 1-0 victory over Fulham, Manchester United gave Ruben Amorim an early birthday present through a deflected goal from Lisandro Martinez.
Twelve minutes from the end, Sasa Lukic was taken off guard by the Argentine defender’s speculative 25-yard attempt, which looped over Bernd Leno.
The Red Devils, whose manager Amorim turns 40 on Monday, move up to 12th place in the Premier League rankings with the visitors’ lone goal in a game with little opportunities.
Fulham dominated the first half and came very near through Alex Iwobi, but they were unable to produce anything after the half.
The United substitute Toby Collyer stopped Joachim Andersen’s header late in the game, denying the host team their chance to extend their six-game winning streak on home soil.
Fulham is now eight points off of the top five in 10th place. United has improved and is now four points behind.
