Furious Fulham boss Alvaro Arbeloa claims referees 'don't like Man Utd to lose'

· Mirror

Fulham are still without their first Premier League win under new boss Alvaro Arbeloa after being pegged back late on by Manchester United at Craven Cottage on Sunday afternoon

Alvaro Arbeloa sensationally claimed referees 'don't like' Manchester United losing after Fulham's late draw. The Londoners looked on their way to their first Premier League victory under the Spanish coach.

Lisandro Martinez had put through his own net to give Fulham the lead, only for Matheus Cunha's late deflected effort to ensure a share of the points.

And while Arbeloa bemoaned his side's fortune for not being able to hold out for a much-needed win, he also took aim at the referees for not awarding a foul by [Harry] Maguire just seconds before United's equaliser.

Arbeloa said: "We were so, so close. We were a little unlucky again but we know it was going to be difficult against a big team and we have seen what the referee has been doing through the match.

> "There were so many things for them, you can see it in the foul by [Harry] Maguire. Every decision was for them. I knew after the game against Manchester City that they don't like Manchester United to lose.

> "We were so, so close to our first victory that we are a little bit upset now. I think we did a good game.

> "Obviously not an easy game for us, we were in the bottom position but we saw personality with the ball, we were brave. We had moments where we had to defend but in general we did a good game.

> "We wanted to control the transition and the counter attacks. We know they put too many people inside so we have to control the space behind our midfielders. They sometimes found the spaces, it is a difficult match against a big team and for me they will be near the top of the league by the end of the season.

> "Now we have to find the first victory. If you see our first five games we have already played Man Utd, Chelsea, at Anfield, at Sunderland.

> "Now we have an October that will be so important for us. We have shown the team we want to be and if we play in this way the victories will come."

Arbeloa now has a few weeks to stew on Fulham’s failure to secure victory against United, with the Premier League due to take a break due to the first international window of the season. Their next opportunity for victory is set to come in three weeks’ time as they take on newly-promoted Ipswich.

Read the original

People in this story

Related