Man Utd's tactics 'straightforward' says Fulham's Rene Meulensteen

Fulham manager Rene Meulensteen labelled Manchester United's approach as "straightforward" after he guided his side to a 2-2 draw at Old Trafford.

United put 81 crosses into the Fulham penalty area, the most by any team in a Premier League match since 2006, but only 18 of them found a man in red.

Meulensteen said: "Their game plan was straightforward. They put crosses in from wide angles. We defended it well.

"If you are well-organised, it can be easy to defend against."

United have only won six of their 13 home games in the Premier League this season.

With 13 games remaining, they are nine points adrift of fourth-placed Liverpool and Champions League qualification.

Newcastle, Everton, West Brom and Tottenham have all won at Old Trafford in the Premier League and Meulensteen - who was a coach at Old Trafford for seven years before leaving in the summer - believes teams have changed their tactics when visiting the champions.

He said: "I do think that a few teams have come here with a different approach. Teams have come to Old Trafford and got something.

"Teams are thinking that there is a chink in United's armour. We set out as everyone can see, we made it very difficult for them.

"They have some problems of their own. They kept creating chances and crosses but we defended fantastically well. You think at the end all the hard work will slip away. But at the end, for Darren Bent to score that equaliser, it felt like a winner."

Fulham's 21-year-old centre-back Dan Burn made 22 clearances as the Premier League's bottom side defended an early lead given to them by Steve Sidwell.

Intense pressure from the home side finally paid off, though, when Robin van Persie and Michael Carrick scored within 80 seconds of each other to give United a 2-1 lead with 10 minutes remaining.

But Bent levelled in the final minute of stoppage time to give Fulham a point which Meulensteen hopes will aid their fight against relegation.

Fulham are still bottom, with 20 points from 25 games, four behind 17th-placed Sunderland.

Liverpool, fresh from hammering Arsenal 5-1 on Saturday, visit Craven Cottage on Wednesday.

"The most important thing is we got a point," said Meulensteen. "A lot of people were classifying us as dead and buried. We have far too much quality and team spirit to be down where we are.

"We've got Liverpool on Wednesday, which is another massive game. You have to play the big boys, elevate yourself. Hopefully this gives us a good base to kick on."