Manchester United’s 1-0 win vs Fulham wasn’t a game that will be played on highlight reels five years from now but the importance can’t be understated.
Man Utd avoided getting dragged into a genuine relegation fight with a win here, which should allow them to drive their attention more towards the Europa League.
Lisandro Martinez will take the plaudits for his goalscoring effort, while Harry Maguire continued his immense run of form of late (Rangers remains a hiccup!).
However, it can be argued that United wouldn’t have come back from Craven Cottage with all three points if not for a timely intervention by Toby Collyer.
Ruben Amorim on Toby Collyer
Collyer has enjoyed a true breakout under Ruben Amorim recently after starting from underneath due to an injury sustained during the new manager’s early days.
He’s effectively frozen out Casemiro and regardless of whether he starts or comes off the bench, can be relied upon to do the simple things right and run himself into the ground.
His cameo against Fulham was trending in a similar direction as he was brought on to shore up the midfield energy and repel Fulham.
Nobody would have expected that he would have such a direct hand in doing so!
United’s set-piece weakness was almost exposed late on as a flicked header was flying into the far post but Collyer sensed the danger like a veteran and contorted his body ridiculously to head it away while the ball was halfway in the goal.
After the game, Amorim praised him for his crucial act of saving that shot, revealing that he’s done the same in training recently.
He said: “[Toby Collyer] did it [goalline clearance] in practice one time, really, like the same play! So, if you do the right things in practice, you can save your team in the game.
“Toby saved our team today.”
Amorim’s comments a message to Marcus Rashford
First off, it is worth repeating that Amorim doesn’t really need to send indirect messages to Marcus Rashford because his direct ones have been extremely brutal.
His latest came after the Fulham win when he said he’d rather put his goalkeeping coach on the bench than a player who doesn’t give his maximum.
In that sense, a message like this under the layers is hardly earth-shattering but with his praise for Collyer this way, Amorim has once again stressed his non-negotiables at Old Trafford.
Do the simple things right, be professional, give your maximum, and the results will take care of themselves.
Be it in Collyer’s increased role of late or Alejandro Garnacho forcing himself back into his plans, the Man Utd manager has proved to be a man of his word.
These redemption stories continue to make Rashford look bad.
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