Matheus Cunha makes Manchester United admission: ‘It cannot be like this’ | Football

Matheus Cunha admits that Fulham ‘put in more energy’ than Manchester United in the 1-1 draw at Craven Cottage on Sunday, which is unacceptable.

Cunha rescued a point late on as his deflected shot squirmed past Bernd Leno and into the back of the net.

It was close to being a nightmare afternoon for the Red Devils after Lisandro Martinez scored a comical own goal on 63 minutes, before the Brazilian scored an equaliser just one minute before the 90.

Former Manchester United players Gary Neville and Ashley Young were scathing of the performance from Michael Carrick’s side, accusing them of ‘walking about’ for long periods of the match.

Cunha admits the Red Devils lacked energy and says it is not acceptable to see the opposition putting in more ‘energy’ than them.

‘It’s so frustrating for us because I feel in the beginning we put the plan in and then we try to do it, we start to do it, and then we create some chances,’ Cunha told Sky Sports. ‘We didn’t score, unlucky, and they scored in one action that’s hard to explain. A lot of luck.

‘But then you come back, and then this is a little bit frustrating for us, because I feel after we conceded the goal we played much better. With a lot of enthusiasm, a lot of character, a lot of everything that you can do for this club, but this needs to be from the start.

‘It’s only one point, but we’re sure to never play for one point.’

On the team’s lack of energy, he said: ‘Yeah, it’s hard to explain, I don’t know, honestly.

‘I feel like after the first half we created a lot of things, we play well, and we were strong defensively also, like I said, how we planned to do it. In the middle of the second half, I feel like they put [in] more energy than us. We cannot accept this.

‘We always play better after we concede the goal, and it cannot be like this.’

With just five points from their first five matches, the pressure is already on Michael Carrick in his first season as permanent Manchester United boss.

Cunha says it is all part of the job as a Manchester United and Brazil star and it doesn’t bother him.

‘To be honest, I don’t hear something from outside, to be honest,’ he said. ‘I always try to improve with my teammates, of course, we know how to play [for] this club.

‘For me, it’s a little bit common, the national team is the same and I think I’m very privileged to play in these two roles, but yeah, it’s only the beginning.’

‘Last season it was a little bit the same, a lot of noise around and then we finished third, but this season we need to improve a little bit earlier, because if we improve early, I think we can continue to do something special for the shirt.’

Cunha’s goal in west London was his first of the Premier League season, but second in all competitions.

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