Ruben Amorim’s reputation suffers further hit after Man Utd’s latest humiliation

Manchester United now only have the Europa League to play for after being dumped out of the FA Cup by Fulham, with Ruben Amorim’s reputation continuing to nosedive

In a season of unprecedented turmoil on and off the pitch, all Manchester United now have left to play for is the Europa League.

A once great club, crippled by financial problems and grubbing around in the bottom half of the Premier League, now have one shot at salvaging a season of chaos and misery. Ruben Amorim must somehow lift his players for Thursday’s Europa League last 16 first leg away at Real Sociedad, after the door slammed shut on another trophy and a route back into Europe.

After six expertly-dispatched penalties, United defender Victor Lindelof was the first to miss, his unconvincing spot-kick saved by Bernd Leno. And when Fulham skipper Antonee Robinson scored, Joshua Zirkzee had to convert to keep alive United’s hopes, but Leno saved his effort, sending Marco Silva’s side through and the holders out.

Amorim has now lost 10 of his 25 games in charge, a dismal return for a man who arrived as one of the brightest young managers in Europe, but who has seen that status wrecked by the reputation-wrecker that is the modern-day United.

Whether Amorim can turn United around in the summer, when he can start his overhaul of the squad, is open to question. For now, his immediate task is to try to navigate a way through the Europa League, although on current form, United will be lucky to make it through the next round.

For Fulham, this was a deserved win. They were the better side overall, denied by some fine saves from United goalkeeper Andre Onana, and displayed cooler heads when the tie went to a shoot-out, their prize a home quarter-final tie against Crystal Palace.

Roy Keane may not rate Bruno Fernandes as a leader, but the United skipper hauled his side back into the game with a majestic strike, cancelling out Calvin Bassey’s first-half header. Fernandes scored the opening penalty of the shoot-out, but his heroics were ultimately in vain as United came up short again – a recurring theme this season.

The visitors took the lead on the stroke of half-time, following a disputed corner which Fernandes rightly claimed should have been a goal-kick. Former United midfielder Andreas Pereira sent the ball into the area, where it was flicked on by Rodrigo Muniz and headed over the line by the exceptional Bassey.

When referee Stuart Atwell blew for half-time, United’s failure to score from open play in the first-half had extended to 19 games. If ever a statistic underlined how insipid Amorim’s side have been in attack, that was it.

But the equaliser, which seemed unlikely the more United toiled, eventually came in the 71st minute, courtesy of a sublime first-time strike from Fernandes, the low, clinical finish giving Leno no chance.

Onana produced a fine save at full stretch in the 94th minute to palm away a goal-bound effort from Fulham sub Emile Smith-Rowe, as extra-time loomed large, with both sides desperate to avoid an additional 30 minutes.

United could have won the game in the 100th minute, when Alejandro Garnacho saw a shot blocked by Leno, then when 17-year-old Chido Obi sent the ball agonisingly wide with seconds left.

He went close again in the first-half of extra-time, forcing a vital save from Leno, as the game lurched to a shoot-out. In a season where pretty much everything that can go wrong has gone wrong for United, they came up short, once again mired in self-recrimination and regret.

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