- Joshua Zirkzee scored the only goal of the game to secure victory for Manchester United over Fulham
- Andre Onana kept a clean sheet to start his second season at Old Trafford
Manchester United FC scored late on Friday to claim maximum points at home to gritty Fulham FC in the 2024/25 English Premier League opening game of the season.
Barely days after his capture, substitute Joshua Zickree climbed off the bench to win all three points for Eric Ten Hag’s Red Devils on a night Andre Onana showed up for his team when there was need.
The Dutchman handed a starting debut to new addition Noussair Mazraoui and also utilised Matthijs de Ligt from the bench, though a scratchy performance at both ends of the pitch may be reason for concern.
United had shown glimpses of improvement in the community shield game against Manchester City a week earlier but looked flat for most part of Friday night, largely thanks to the defensive and team organisation deployed by Fulham’s Marco Silva.
Despite the good defensive efforts from Fulham that made the hosts toil for most of the game, Manchester United found their way out.
United struggled to beat Bernd Leno in a first-half flurry of chances, and it was the visitors who looked the likelier side to break the deadlock in the second half. However, Zirkzee, on as a second half substitute after a summer switch from Bologna, produced a moment of quality on his full debut, deftly opening up his foot to divert a cross into the corner and pinch the points.
The opening day result meant a solid start to the new season for Erik ten Hag, backed in the summer by the club’s hierarchy despite an up-and-down campaign last time around.
The rest of the match day one games will be played this weekend across the country.
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