Manchester United head coach Michael Carrick, speaking to BBC Sport: “There’s a lot that went on today in the game. I was well aware of what a good team Fulham are going into the game. I was getting questions thrown at me about teams sitting back here, but I knew it was never going to be like that today. They are a good team, I knew we were going to have to answer a lot of questions and we did that for a lot of it. The boys put in a big effort and they were really desperate to win the game.
"For Ben [Sesko] to come on and have a moment like that is huge. It was nice for him to get his moment in front of the Stretford End. There's not a better place to score a winner like that.
"It's a big moment for everyone. You could tell that in the way everyone celebrated – from the staff to the supporters. It was one of those special ones."
On missing the chance to go 3-0 up: “That’s life as a striker, not that I know much about it. You have to be in there to take the chances and sometimes you miss the chances, but we have done a lot of good work in the past few weeks. The coaches have done a lot with Ben [Sesko] and having the character to come on, miss one and score one shows he kept calm. It was a fantastic finish, one that mattered even more and had even bigger emotion to it, so he will remember that for some time.”
On whether picking up points in less daunting games is important: “This was a big game for us. They are a good team and they are close behind us in the league. I think this ‘big game’ thing is all part of the narrative. Every game is a big game and we have to treat it like that. Next week we move on, but today was a tough one. It was even tougher because everyone expected going into the game it would be different. But we didn’t. We got our players mentally and physically right – and we got there in the end.”
Hear more from Carrick on BBC Sounds
United striker Benjamin Sesko, speaking to Sky Sports after scoring the winning goal: “That was unbelievable. Scoring at home and scoring the winner is unbelievable. I’ve been dreaming about that. We all know, as a team, how important these results are. We are on a really great run right now and we are just hoping that we can continue to work hard like that to win games. I’m really happy that I could help the team out. We can continue our streak now.”
On Carrick's message to the team about playing with freedom and enjoying playing for Manchester United: “It’s true he has said these things many times to the team. That’s exactly what we are doing. But it’s not just that, you can see how much we work hard for each other without the ball and that also contributes to good results in the end. The work-rate is definitely different. Everyone is on point and covering their spaces. In the end, that’s what counts.”
On Casemiro: “He is an unbelievable player – a legend. It is nice to play with him and it is also nice to listen to his advice. His work-rate is unbelievable and he gives all his teams a boost. We are grateful to have him with us.”
Did you know?
- Carrick is the third Manchester United manager to win four or more of his first five league games in charge (including his first spell in 2021), after Sir Matt Busby in 1946 and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer in 2019.
- United have won all seven Premier League games in which they have had less than 45% possession this season (42.4% against Fulham on Sunday). By contrast, they have won just four of 17 league games when having 45% or more possession in 2025-26 (D8 L5).
