David de Gea saved a penalty as Manchester United came from behind to beat Fulham and secure third place in the Premier League on the final day of the season.
Fulham took the lead when Kenny Tete got away from Marcus Rashford to glance Willian's corner in at the near post. They were handed the chance to make it 2-0 when Casemiro brought down Tom Cairney in the box, but De Gea produced a good stop to keep out Aleksandar Mitrovic's penalty.
Alejandro Garncho struck the underside of the crossbar before Jadon Sancho stabbed in a loose ball to equalise for United. Fred played in Bruno Fernandes to dink over Bernd Leno and make it 2-1 and United comfortably held on to secure the three points.
Victory - their fourth in succession - sees them finish on 75 points, ahead of Newcastle United. Fulham end the campaign in 10th. Here are the talking points from the game at Old Trafford.
De Gea steps up
Who wins when a poor penalty taker comes up against a poor penalty saver? The answer, in this case, was De Gea.
The Spaniard has often been ridiculed for his bad record at keeping out spot-kicks, but he has turned things around this season. After diving full length to push away Mitrovic’s effort, he moved onto three penalty saves in the past two seasons – only West Ham ’s Lukasz Fabianski (4) has saved more.
Yet his poor record is shown by the fact it was De Gea's first penalty save at Old Trafford since he denied Leighton Baines way back in October 2014. Mitrovic may be taken off penalties in future, considering he has become the first player in Premier League history to fail to score four penalties in a single campaign.
Garnacho makes his case
United fans have been calling for Garnacho to be given more opportunities since he returned from injury and they had their wish granted on Sunday. The youngster started on the left-hand side, alongside Sancho and Rashford and was arguably the brightest of all three.
He shaved the post with an instinctive effort on the turn before smashing the underside of the crossbar with a curling effort on the overlap. There could be places up for grabs in Ten Hag’s line-up for the FA Cup final and Garnacho is definitely making his case.
HAVE YOUR SAY! What should Manchester United's starting line-up be for the FA Cup final? Comment below.
Fred the playmaker
Fred has fallen out of favour with Ten Hag in recent weeks, with brief substitute appearances the most he has been given in May. But restored to the line-up on Sunday, in place of Christian Eriksen, he showed that he has the creative ability to make an impact in attack.
It was the Brazilian’s driving run into the Fulham box which saw the ball drop for Sancho’s equaliser and it was his exquisite pass which sliced through the defence to send Fernandes in for the second.
Fred has endured a strange United career, going from laughing stock to fan-favourite and then fading a bit. He enjoyed a strong showing on the final game of the Premier League season.
Fulham conclude excellent season
In many ways, it was a low-key end to the season for Marco Silva’s side, but there was still cause for celebration at Old Trafford. Fulham have finished 10th in the Premier League, defying the odds to end in the top half following their promotion back to the division.
Silva has done an outstanding job, creating a solid side which also has enough flare to threaten any team they come up against. Joao Palhinha has a claim to signing of the season and ended the season in typical fashion picking up his 14th yellow of the campaign – the most of any player in the league.
Fulham fans will be delighted with what their side has achieved this season.
Thoughts turn to the final
Job done for United, who have secured third place and finished above Newcastle. They have ended the campaign with four successive victories, which bodes well for the FA Cup final against Manchester City on Saturday.
Ten Hag has plenty to ponder ahead of that match, with the make-up of the attack of particular interest. Anthony Martial did not look sharp when he came on, so does he play Rashford centrally at Wembley?
Who will feature in central midfield, alongside nailed-on starters Casemiro and Fernandes? And who will play in central defence, now Raphael Varane is back among the substitutes?
