United Draw Extends Worst Premier League Start Under Carrick

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham at Craven Cottage on Sunday, a result that leaves the club with just five points from its first five Premier League matches, equalling its worst-ever start to a season. The draw extends United's winless league run to three matches and intensifies scrutiny on manager Michael Carrick. The match appeared to be heading for a third consecutive defeat for United after defender Lisandro Martínez scored an own goal in the 63rd minute. The incident followed a miscommunication with goalkeeper Senne Lammens, who failed to cleanly deal with a shot from Calvin Bassey. However, Matheus Cunha salvaged a point for the visitors in the 89th minute when his long-range effort took a significant deflection off Fulham's David Affengruber to beat goalkeeper Bernd Leno. The result leaves United in 12th place in the table, having won only one of their five league matches. The performance was widely criticized for a lack of energy and cohesion, particularly at the start of the second half. Pundit Gary Neville described that opening 15-minute period as the worst he had ever seen United perform.