Manchester United have unsung hero who played through the pain barrier

"Play like you mean it," read the banner unfurled in the Manchester United away section at Craven Cottage.

A committed performance was the bare minimum demanded by United supporters on Saturday afternoon following humiliating defeats by Manchester City and Newcastle and one player clearly received the memo.

Harry Maguire went down just 39 seconds into the game following a nasty collision and a blow to the head, but he passed the concussion protocols after a check by club doctor Gary O'Driscoll and played on.

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Maguire looked dazed after the collision and when he went down again in the second half, it was thought to be related, although it was later confirmed by Erik ten Hag the stoppage was due to a hand injury.

"He was playing a massive, massive game," said Ten Hag. "A very good performance. He showed leadership in and out of possession, he was very good. So I'm very pleased with that performance from Harry."

Bruno Fernandes added: "Everyone has been important, I don't want to focus too much on one player, but everyone has been too critical of Harry [Maguire] and he is doing very well. I hope he can stay at this level."

Maguire won the most aerial duels of anyone on the pitch against Fulham and he also made the most clearances. His performance throughout the afternoon was excellent and it was worthy of the man of the match award.

Fernandes received the award instead and that was inevitable considering he scored the late winner, but it was no surprise to see the midfielder pick out Maguire for praise in his post-match interview.

The centre-back played through the pain barrier against Fulham to have arguably his