‘They wouldn’t let Man Utd lose’: Arbeloa accuses officials of favouring Man Utd

Fulham head coach Alvaro Arbeloa accused the officials of helping Manchester United avoid defeat after his side were held to a 1-1 draw by Matheus Cunha’s late equaliser on Sunday.

United appeared destined for a second straight Premier League defeat after Lisandro Martinez’s own goal put Fulham ahead in the 63rd minute. But Cunha’s deflected strike in the 89th minute rescued a point for Michael Carrick’s side at Craven Cottage.

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Arbeloa was particularly unhappy with a free-kick awarded to United just 35 seconds before Cunha’s goal, after Cesar Palacios was deemed to have fouled Harry Maguire near halfway.

“All fouls for them,” Arbeloa told Sky Sports. “You can see before they scored, the foul against Maguire, he’s a guy who is 100 kilos. Every decision was for them.

“And I knew. I knew after the game against Man City that they [would not] let Manchester United lose here. We deserved a little bit more.”

Arbeloa was referring to the controversy from the previous weekend’s Manchester derby, when United suffered a late defeat to Manchester City after Erling Haaland’s winning goal stood following a disputed decision.

The Fulham boss later appeared to soften his criticism in his press conference, saying his English may have caused him to explain himself poorly and that he preferred to focus on his team.

“I’m not really happy,” he said. “Like I said, I need to be focused and put my energy in all the things that I have to improve.”

He also conceded that the Maguire incident may not have been a foul.

“Maybe it wasn’t a foul. But it’s OK. Like I said, I prefer to analyse the game, players, systems and it’s the best for win.”

United’s late rescue extended Fulham’s wait for their first Premier League victory of the season, while Carrick’s side remain without a league win in their last two matches.