Michael Carrick hailed "the best feeling" after Benjamin Sesko's stoppage-time header secured a dramatic 3-2 win for Manchester United against Fulham at Old Trafford. The interim boss saw his side squander a 2-0 lead, courtesy of Casemiro and Matheus Cunha, before Raul Jimenez converted an 85th-minute penalty and Kevin levelled in the first minute of added time. However, Sesko struck moments later to clinch a third consecutive victory under Carrick and lift United into the Premier League's top four.
Carrick, who knows the famous turf well from his playing days, described the late winner as an unmatched feeling, particularly in front of the Stretford End. "Some of the best moments I've been part of here, you can dissect performances and there are plusses and not, and then you get a moment of elation and excitement like that," he said. "People leave here with more than just, 'United won today' – it's layers on top of that, the emotion and the feeling and it's why we all love it so much."
The former midfielder acknowledged his team had performed below their best but praised their resilience after conceding twice late on. "The character we showed after a big setback, a huge setback, in the 90th minute, to do that coming off what we did last week off a setback is probably the most pleasing thing," he said. "We can play better, we can do a lot of things better in certain moments but I can't fault the players' belief."
Fulham manager Marco Silva was left furious by the VAR decision that led to United's opening goal. Referee John Brooks initially pointed to the spot after Cunha went down under Jorge Cuenca's challenge, but replays showed the defender won the ball. Instead of overturning the penalty completely, VAR ruled that a pull had occurred outside the box, prompting a free-kick from which Casemiro scored.
Silva criticised the decision, insisting the penalty had been awarded for the tackle and that VAR had effectively re-refereed the incident. "The penalty was given – it was a bad, bad, bad decision from John Brooks," he said. "We got feedback that Brooks was going to go to the screen because in VAR's opinion it was not a penalty, and then they give a free-kick for a pull. It's the first time we have seen that this season, last season, but maybe it comes more in the future."
