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It was exactly the kind of moment that Manchester United once paid a world record transfer fee.
Whether Paul Pogba could have produced more of them in the last four and a half years is an argument for another time.
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Because Pogba is full of it right now, feeling the Premier League title and determined to play a leadership role.
On a dirty night by the Thames, when Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s comeback specialists clinched a decisive victory for the seventh time on the road this season, it was Pogba who had the imagination and talent to solve another close encounter.
There’s no question that United’s men are determined enough to claim their first title in eight years.
And with Pogba in this mood, they too have the quality.
He scored a volley goal at Burnley last week, the only time United had not lagged behind before an away win in the Premier League this season.
But this one-goal peach, conjured from the leaden skies, was one of his best.
Battling the top spot from Manchester City, who had in turn taken it from Leicester earlier in the night, United are enjoying this extraordinary title run.
Leadership is shared like a hamster in the classroom this season, with City becoming the eighth different club to top the list.
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But midway through their campaign, United are two points clear, and while Pep Guardiola’s City have a game in hand, United shows no signs of falling.
United may not have looked like champions, as they bored a record Sky TV audience in Sunday’s Ditchwater draw with Liverpool.
However, that result meant they came to Craven Cottage undefeated in the Premier League for a year and a day.
They faced a Fulham locked in the relegation zone, but hard to beat lately – five straight draws for Scott Parker’s side, before all ten of his men suffered a late loss to Chelsea on Saturday.
Solskjaer benched Marcus Rashford, opening Mason Greenwood up the right and Cavani down the middle, restoring Eric Bailly to central defense.
Rain poured down the side of the Thames, Craven Cottage’s half-built Riverside Stand offering little protection.
So this was another test of United’s mettle, wasn’t it? – and were caught off guard within four minutes, once again starting an away game like angry teens faced with an early alarm call.
Andre-Frank Anguissa, Fulham’s best player this season, provided the pass and Ademola Lookman almost hesitated, perhaps believing he was offside, before overtaking David De Gea and reaching the far corner.
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Parker had moved Lookman from wing to center forward and the trade paid anticipated dividends.
However, United have lagged behind often enough to avoid panic and soon had a penalty call, long shouted by Harry Maguire and the United contingent in the stands.
But both referee Martin Atkinson and VAR Kevin Friend were unfazed and Pogba was booked for stopping a Fulham breakaway.
Then came the Bruno Fernandes show, a five-minute period in which the elusive Portuguese pocket man scored the tying goal for United and could have scored two goals for himself.
First Fernandes turned and shot the post off a pass from Fred.
Then Fernandes found space to the left and crossed low for goalkeeper Alphonse Areola to make a spill with butter fingers, allowing Cavani to jump up and hit home.
After that, another nice twist from Fernandes and a shot that a sunken Areola pushed around the post.
He’s a fox out of the box, a cunning space invader, and a sure contender for Footballer of the Year honors.
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It felt like United was about to take full control and when Aaron Wan-Bissaka chose Anthony Martial at the back stick the Frenchman’s header was deflected back, Maguire nodded wide from the resulting corner.
But Fulham resisted it and after the break, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, who has been enduring a frustrating loan spell from Chelsea, showed his class to create a pair of starts, the second of which brought a save from Anguissa’s De Gea. .
United had been quiet so far from Pogba in the 65th minute: Ivan Cavaleiro’s punt attempt was caught in a flurry and he fell at the Frenchman’s feet, but that was the only element of fortune.
The rest was pure class, as Pogba, with the mind of three Fulham players, looked up, looked at the far corner and found him with a magnificent curling effort that combined power and precision.
Cavani nearly killed him in a minute, his header forced a good save point-blank from Areola, but Loftus-Cheek then called for a decent save from De Gea before he went off when he should have hit the mark.
Fulham’s attempt to beat relegation faces critical tests at Brighton and West Brom in their next two league games.
For United, the sights couldn’t be higher. Imagine how good they would be if they could start the games correctly.
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