Joshua Zirkzee nets late debut goal to give Man Utd win over Fulham - 5 talking points
MANCHESTER UNITED 1-0 FULHAM: Joshua Zirkzee climbs off the bench to score on his United debut to give Erik ten Hag's side a winning start to their Premier League campaign at Old Trafford
Joshua Zirkzee scored on debut to give Manchester United victory over Fulham on the opening day of the Premier League season.
United have splashed £150million on four new signings in the summer transfer window - and it was Zirkzee, a £36m arrival from Bologna, who made the difference. The Dutchman turned in fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho's cross late on to win it for Erik ten Hag's side.
The goal came at the perfect time for United, who had otherwise looked uninspired at Old Trafford, but did have the better chances through Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount.
United started sluggishly but mustered the only two real chances of the first half only for Fernandes to twice be denied by Bernd Leno after being played in by Casemiro. Mount tested Leno again but Fulham looked to be holding on for a point before Zirkzee's impact. Here are the talking points.
Ten Hag goes strikerless
When the team sheet arrived at the new time of 75 minutes before kick-off, there was a brief glance to wonder how United would set up. The answer was: like they did in the FA Cup final win at the end of last season.
With Rasmus Hojlund unavailable and Joshua Zirkzee on the bench, Ten Hag opted for the now tried and tested formation of 4-2-2-2, or a narrow 4-4-4, depending on how you view it. With Marcus Rashford and Amad wide, the idea is that Fernandes and Mason Mount test the Fulham backline with runs into the box.
The strikerless formation took time to get going, but did show how it can function when Casemiro slid in Fernandes for the best chance of the first half. In general, though, it showed how important having a centre-forward will be for United this season, as the first half fizzled out.
Traore still box office
Most of Fulham's threat came down the right-hand side in the form of Adama Traore. His pace is well-known in the Premier League, but it is still very hard to defend against - and United struggled at times.
There were just seven minutes on the clock when the former Wolves winger breezed past two United defenders, including Lisandro Martinez but couldn't pick out a team-mate in the middle. Martinez learned his lesson and ushered Traore out in a similar position.
Yet the threat of Traore's pace on the break was constant - and with Dalot pushing up high on the left, there were some nervy moments for the home side.
United still vulnerable on the counter
United's narrow box midfield has some benefits - it helps the team press from the front and can cause overloads in midfield - but there were also some clear weaknesses on show.
They mainly came on the counter-attack, with Fulham's best moments coming when they won back the ball with United out of shape. This happened on a handful of times, and they were very fortunate not to concede at least one goal.
Andreas Pereira fluffed a brilliant opportunity when he failed to find Alex Iwobi when two on one with Harry Maguire. And Martinez cleared Pereira's low cross after an Alejandro Garnacho dive at the other end left his side short-staffed. Ten Hag needs to iron out the mistakes, otherwise his team are going to pay the price this season.
Low key debuts for Bayern duo
Noussair Mazraoui came straight into the starting line-up just days after completing a transfer from Bayern Munich, but he didn't play at left-back as some might have expected. Instead, the Morocco international was fielded in his preferred right-back role. He put in a solid if unspectacular display, but Ten Hag will be desperate to get Luke Shaw back fit so Diogo Dalot doesn't have to play at left-back.
Matthijs de Ligt came off the substitutes' bench for United in the second half but there was little to get excited about. He didn't impacted the game much - and the sight of De Light and Jonny Evans climbing off the bench when United should have been chasing the game hardly inspired confidence.
Zirkzee makes the difference
Leno had a good game in goal for Fulham and appeared to have earned them a point before Zirkzee's impact. Garnacho sent in a hopeful low cross and the 23-year-old managed to get a scuffed touch onto the ball to send it into the bottom corner.
Zirkzee was United's first signing of the summer, but is perhaps the lowest profile, having come from Bologna. With Hojlund currently out, he has a great chance to show what he can do in the coming weeks - and he made the perfect start on Friday night.
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