In the throng that swamped Alejandro Garnacho, the only red shirt absent was Casemiro. The old warhorse, denied a breather by the flaky forwards, sunk to his knees in the centre circle. The moisture in his eyes could have been tears. The only crying for United's young Argentine are those of joy.
The Brazilian Casemiro will not mind if the season is soundtracked to "Argentina". Lisandro Martinez, colossal again, swapped his shirt with a United fan for an Argentina flag. There were at least three of them in the away end that the stewards struggled to contain the added-time celebrations.
Casemiro did it last month and Garnacho, the latest whippersnapper winger off the Carrington conveyor belt, has this month. Only his maiden Fergie-time strike was a winner. Garnacho's first-time prod past Bernd Leno was in front of the away-dayers he rushed towards to savour his first goal in the Premier League.
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Garnacho had to start this game and did not. He was a victim of defensive balance with Diogo Dalot absent and Tyrell Malacia an auxiliary right-back. Protecting Malacia with Garnacho was too risky, so United's goal threat was reduced.
It was only when Erik ten Hag took the 'risk' of introducing Garnacho into the cut-and-thrust of a humdinger of a contest that United won it. The Argentine played with his customary swagger and whipped his shirt off in celebration, hoisting it and bearing his name. Remember it.
Fulham fans booed Garnacho after an innocent tumble in the penalty area. The jeers, the movement from the left, the late winner at the Putney End, it evoked memories of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2007. "The newspapers can write about the cheaters," one disgruntled Fulham fan muttered to the press box at full-time.
Garnacho believes his own hype and everyone is believing it, too. He can get away with that when he is winning as many games as he has been. That would be three of United's last four.
For such a progressive first third of the season, this was almost an unbecoming performance to signal United's intermission. Ten Hag was caught on the hop against a yo-yo team he lavished with too much respect, repeating an error of recent weeks by reverting to pragmatism.
Fulham were obliging hosts with their high-risk front-foot football that kept David de Gea busy and they chanced United would be as wasteful as they have been for much of the season. They were.
So Ten Hag summoned Scott McTominay to replace Anthony Elanga 10 minutes into the second-half. Six minutes later, fellow substitute Daniel James equalised. Ten Hag was more reactive than proactive, specifically to the two swift saves by De Gea from Carlos Vinicius and Tim Ream.
The United manager has succumbed to early second-half substitutions that have bordered on the negative in recent weeks at Chelsea and Real Sociedad that had next to no effect and this was another. McTominay's first touch was a foul.
A striker as a junior and a midfielder utilisied in defensive and attacking capacities by his first team managers, McTominay's introduction set the wrong tone with the best part of 40 minutes on the clock and United ahead. McTominay took over No.10 duties from Bruno Fernandes and then ended up deep alongside Casemiro.
He ought to have atoned from an attack he commenced with a raking pass, dashing into the area only to fail to anticipate Luke Shaw's cross. McTominay sunk to his knees. He would do so later in relief.
In the 67th minute, Ten Hag beckoned Fernandes over and the instructions from manager to captain and captain to teammates were heated. James's two years at United had been airbrushed from memory by the away-dayers who broke into a rendition of "We all hate Leeds scum" to greet him. Two minutes later, James tapped an equaliser and celebrated with admirable restraint.
United's squad was so depleted Ten Hag needlessly listed two goalkeepers on the bench for the second Premier League fixture. Of those available, Garnacho was the sole game-changer and his introduction deprived United of a specialist striker, though Anthony Martial fired blanks.
Malacia confessed in Bangkok at the start of pre-season back in early July he is solely a left-back yet Ten Hag had to crowbar him in on the right rather than relocate Victor Lindelof there and recall Harry Maguire, another ignominious reflection on the United captain.
Maguire, undeniably the fourth-choice centre-back at United, cannot have quibbled about Lindelof's defending but Malacia was at times, a danger to his own side, the selection of the attacker Elanga in front of him more defensive to provide some game protection.
For all Fulham's enterprise, United were profligate, Martial foiled twice by Leno and unable to glance a header on target in the first-half alone, while Eriksen was still ruing his failure to put the ball the other side of the post as he trudged off at the interval. Again, United attacked more fluently without Ronaldo.
Eriksen's goal showcased the best of United's midfield triumvirate Casemiro converting defence into attack, Fernandes getting the assist and Eriksen the goal. Eriksen's first in United colours was Scholes-like, the Dane's anticipation at the far stick expert. Fernandes is not easily pleased but put his hands together for one perceptive pass by Casemiro.
As Garnacho will have now discovered, there are few better away grounds for a United player to score at. Martinez has already received the obligatory Argentina chants and has a dedicated ditty in development to 2 Unlimited's No Limit. 2,300 away-dayers were crammed into the right side of the Putney End with the moonlight glistening off the Thames to their left.
There was a World Cup flavour in the away end with Argentina and Portugal flags unfurled. Only Fernandes represented the latter, with Ronaldo too unwell to catch a train from Stockport Station on Saturday. Argentina was the only nation serenaded.
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