Fulham's attacking players started visibly tiring past the seventy-fifth minute, though Ten Hag waited a little longer to change things since United had begun controlling possession again on their own.
Demien's stamina had become impossible to miss by this point.
Palhinha was still physically strong, but he wasn't closing with the same frequency he had in the first half.
Eriksen arrived a fraction later to every second ball now.
Half the pitch had slowed down around him.
Demien hadn't.
Ten Hag made his next moves around the seventy-eighth minute — Mount for Eriksen, Martial for Højlund.
That changed Demien's role again.
With Eriksen off, he became the primary controller sitting behind Bruno and Mount, Mount's fresher legs allowing him to press higher up the pitch, Martial offering a completely different central movement pattern — checking away from the center-backs instead of constantly occupying them.
Demien used it almost immediately.
Martial dropped short.
