Neville is right as late equaliser at Fulham fails to spare lucky Man Utd blushes

How the mighty have fallen.

Manchester United used to win games in Fergie time. Now they are left to snatch a lucky draw from the jaws of defeat.

It spared them some embarrassment - but not much. Five games into the Premier League campaign, United are already 10 points behind Manchester City and another season is in danger of flatlining.

United were so poor at times that Sky co-commentator Gary Neville called the performance “absolutely pathetic” and added: “I've watched United since the age of five. That's the worst 15 minutes I've seen them play.”

That might seem over the top. But let’s not forget that Neville is a club legend, former teammate of United boss Michael Carrick and his comments hit hard. They will resonate.

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They are also in keeping with a mood at a club which demands and expects better. The fans even turned on Carrick in the way they booed the substitution of Kobbie Mainoo at a time when they were chasing an equaliser.

Eventually, they got the leveller courtesy of Matheus Cunha’s deflected shot which was in keeping with their performance. It came after a big stroke of luck which was barely deserved.

The goal at the other end which had put Fulham ahead came after Lisandro Martinez put through his own goal in real Keystone Cops fashion. It was laughably bad.

United desperately needed a win to lift the spirits and change the mood around Carrick going into a three-week international break. That will now feel painfully long.

Sir Alex Ferguson was looking on from the posh seats and he must be wondering what on earth has gone wrong with United’s latest experiment.

Doesn’t this sound all too familiar? Club legend comes in to give United a lift, gets the desired effect and then - surprise, surprise - the next season is much harder to manage. This time it is Carrick and before it was Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.

It is happening again. And then, in the background, you have got joint United owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe making a fool of himself again.

It was Ratcliffe making damning remarks about the country being “on the slide” in an interview about the Government failing businesses.

Honestly, for such an intelligent man his lack of self awareness is incredible. Talk about timing. You might want to get your own affairs in order first, Sir Jim. What a plonker.

But that is what United have come to. They spend millions, buy without much of a plan and leave themselves with a creaking defence marshalled by Harry Maguire who, at 33, showed his age as he lost his balance and crashed into a crate of bottles on the touchline.

Chasing after Fulham’s Josh King and Alex Iwobi must take it out of you. Fulham deserved more than a draw and the result at least takes them off the bottom and leaves Tottenham rock bottom going into the international break.

And that is the point. United’s first five fixtures - Hull, Ipswich, Everton, Manchester City and Fulham - was quite a friendly start. And they have blown it.

Yes, they did OK first half as Bruno Fernandes hit the post and Cunha’s looping effort also hit the woodwork. But Fulham were good and are improving under Alvaro Arbeloa.

Fulham were the better team from the start of the second half. The opening goal came after 63 minutes. Calvin Bassey intercepted Mainoo’s loose pass, strode forward and his shot was parried by Senne Lammens only for Martinez to deflect the rebound into his own net.

Finally United showed some heart. They pushed forward in the closing stages and nicked a point in the last minute. Typical United. Cunha’s shot deflected off David Affengruber for an equaliser.