By Samuel A. August 17, 2024
The long awaited new Premier League season kicked off on Friday night as Manchester United edged past Fulham in a 1-0 victory, as new signing Joshua Zirkzee opened his account by guiding the ball into the net with a simple left foot finish into the bottom left corner. The Dutch striker announced himself at Manchester United by scoring a late winner on his debut to secure their 1-0 win over Fulham for Erik ten Hag’s side.
After new owners INEOS put their trust in Ten Hag by handing him a new contract, the campaign began with three points. There were however several negatives to work on, as Fulham had the better of the first quarter, with Keny Tete forcing Andrea Onana into a good early save from 25 yards.
United improved later on in the first half and began forcing the visitors into errors, one of which saw Bernd Leno pass straight out to Casemiro, who fed makeshift starting striker Bruno Fernandes but the Fulham goalkeeper atoned for his error by saving well. Minutes later, Leno denied the Man Utd captain again from close range after a good move from the hosts. Leno was at it again after the break as he denied Mason Mount from close range. Meanwhile, at the other end, Onana had to be alert to tip Rodrigo Muniz’s deflected acrobatic volley over his bar.
United brought Zirkzee on for his debut with half an hour to go, but the substitution initially failed to make an impact. If anything, Fulham looked more dangerous on the break with Andreas Pereira wasting two good openings on Adama Traore-led breaks with wasteful passes.
But with minutes remaining, Zirkzee turned in Garnacho’s delivery with just his seventh touch of the match, to spare Ten Hag’s blushes and get a winning feeling to Old Trafford at the start of the new campaign.
There was still time for Garnacho to produce an early contender for miss of the season as he failed to turn home Marcus Rashford’s square ball with the goal gaping.
Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag told Sky Sports: “It showed that subs are very important. It’s great in the first game to bring on a sub and he ends up winning us the game. It’s good for the team process and the spirit of the group.
“Against Fulham, it’s always a difficult game but we pressed very well and we kept them under pressure. We created a lot of chances and should have scored earlier. That’s my only criticism of the team that we needed to kill. “We know how important it is to keep clean sheets. Two seasons ago we kept the most number of clean sheets in the Premier League. “When we have our consistent back four, we will defend properly with a high line and the midfield and wingers can get forward. Without a consistent back four, there is no pattern and routines and that’s when gaps appear.”
