Manchester United 1-0 Fulham: What Were The Main Talking Points As United Drag Themselves To An Opening Weekend Victory At Old Trafford?

Getting the new Premier League campaign underway on Friday night, Manchester United dragged themselves to a late 1-0 victory against Fulham at Old Trafford.

Watching Bruno Fernandes miss a pair of golden opportunities in the first-half Erik ten Hag’s side appeared destined to settle for an uninspiring start to proceedings here.

However, while Fulham might have enjoyed large spells of dominance on either side of the half-time break, the Cottagers were eventually left heartbroken as summer recruit Joshua Zirkzee opened his Premier League tenure with a sensational cameo appearance.

Coming off the bench and sweeping home with just three minutes left on the clock, United would have simply been glad to have got the new campaign with a crucial victory on home soil.

On a night when Manchester United got proceedings underway with a gritty last-gasp 1-0 win, we have taken a look at the main talking points from Old Trafford.

United drag themselves to a crucial opening victory

While Manchester United might have got their hands on a history-making 13th FA Cup trophy back on May 26th as they secured a 2-1 victory against bitter local rivals Man City, ten Hag’s side found themselves at the heart of a real Premier League struggle last season.

However, although the Red Devils eventually had to settle for an eighth-place finish last year, the Old Trafford hierarchy did make the decision to stick with the former Ajax boss over the summer.

While ten Hag might have avoided the chop in the red half of Manchester and managed to keep hold of his job, the Dutch tactician still has plenty of pressure on his shoulders and a Champions League return is at the top of his agenda.

Dragging themselves over the finishing line here and desperate to use Friday’s late winner as a platform to build on, the euphoria that accompanied the final whistle was in keeping with the optimism that surrounded United in the build-up to the game.

Although the likes of England international Marcus Rashford might have failed to kickstart his Old Trafford career on Friday night, United would have been relived to overcome what could have been a potential banana skin.

Zirkzee makes an immediate impact on his Premier League debut

While the Bayern Munich duo of Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt might have made their respective Manchester United debuts on Friday night, it was another one of ten Hag’s new recruits who stole all of the headlines here.

Although Zirkzee might have only registered *** minutes for the Netherlands at this summer’s European Championships, there was plenty of excitement around Old Trafford following his arrival last month.

Completing a move to the red half of Manchester after agreeing on a reported fee in the region of £36million with Italian outfit Bologna, the 23-year-old got his Premier League tenure off to a dream start this weekend.

Sweeping home late on and sending the Old Trafford support into overdrive, Zirkzee has quickly blossomed into one of Europe’s hottest young attacking stars and is expected to play a leading role for United this season.

Spearheading Bologna’s charge to a stunning Champions League ticket last season, the two-cap international scored 12 goals in 37 Serie A appearances last season.

Fulham should take the positives away from their Old Trafford trip

Claiming what was a famous 2-1 victory when they travelled to Old Trafford back on February 24th, Fulham were desperate to spring another heavyweight upset when they arrived in the red half of Manchester on Friday night.

However, while Marco Silva’s men might have suffered last-gasp heartbreak here as they opened proceedings with a 1-0 defeat, the former Everton boss should take plenty of positives away from their performance here.

Dominating the opening 20 minutes and causing United a string of issues, the Cottagers will look to dust themselves down quickly as they bid to book a top-half return this season.

Signing off the 2023/24 campaign by mustering just a pair of wins from their final nine Premier League appearances, Fulham and Silva will know that stability is key this time around.

Although the west London outfit might have failed to come away from Old Trafford with at least a point to show for their troubles, Silva’s side now have a pair of opportunities on the horizon as they meet top-flight returners Leicester and Ipswich before the end of the month.

Match Report

Manchester United: Onana, Mazraoui, Maguire, Martinez, Dalot, Casemiro, Maison, Diallo, Mount, Rashford, Fernandes

Subs: de Ligt, Zirkzee, Garnacho, Evans, McTominay

Fulham: Leno, Tete, Diop, Bassey, Robinson, Lukic, Pereira, Adama, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Muniz

Subs: Cairney, Stansfield, Wilson, Jimenez, Reed

Goals: Zirkzee (87’)

Yellow Cards: Manchester United: Mount, Maguire – Fulham: Pereira, Bassey, Cairney

Red Cards: N/A

Referee: Robert Jones