Joshua Zirkzee became an instant Manchester United hero on his debut, scoring a late goal to secure a 1-0 victory over Fulham in the Premier League season opener on Friday.
Despite lacking full match fitness following his £36.5m ($47 million) transfer from Bologna last month, Zirkzee was brought on for the final 30 minutes.
The Dutch international made the difference in the 87th minute, poking in Alejandro Garnacho’s cross to save United from what had been a frustrating evening at Old Trafford.
United manager Erik ten Hag, who held onto his job after last season’s eighth-place finish thanks to an FA Cup triumph, was looking for a positive start.
However, his side’s performance mirrored many of last season’s struggles, raising questions about whether their FA Cup victory over Manchester City in May would serve as a true turning point.
Ten Hag had admitted before the game that his team was “not ready” for the new campaign, with several key players out due to injury or lacking match fitness, and this was evident on the pitch.
Bruno Fernandes was deployed as a center-forward in the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, while Zirkzee, having returned late to pre-season after Euro 2024, started on the bench.
New signing Noussair Mazraoui was thrown straight into the starting lineup at left-back after joining from Bayern Munich earlier in the week.
Notably, Jadon Sancho was left out of the squad despite seemingly having reconciled with Ten Hag.
Fulham, who had won at Old Trafford last season for the first time in 20 years, began the match with confidence.
Andre Onana was called into action early, making a fine save to deny Kenny Tete’s dipping effort from finding the top corner.
Fulham nearly contributed to their own downfall when Casemiro intercepted a sloppy pass from Bernd Leno and set up Fernandes, who could only shoot directly at the German goalkeeper.
Casemiro, whose form had been a concern last season, looked more like his old self, creating another excellent opportunity for Fernandes with an incisive through ball, but Leno again came out on top.
United’s ongoing struggle to find a reliable goal-scorer was evident after the break, as Leno brilliantly denied Mason Mount, who has struggled to find the net since his move from Chelsea over a year ago.
In a bid to find a breakthrough, Ten Hag brought on Garnacho and Zirkzee.
However, this left United vulnerable at the back, and Fulham nearly capitalized, with Andreas Pereira’s poor pass costing Alex Iwobi a clear chance on goal.
Lisandro Martinez then made a crucial clearance to prevent Pereira’s dangerous cross from causing further trouble.
In the end, it was United who snatched all three points.
Garnacho’s cross from the right wasn’t perfect, but Zirkzee managed to get a toe on it, steering the ball past Leno into the far corner.
United should have doubled their lead in stoppage time, but Garnacho missed an open goal after an unselfish pass from Marcus Rashford.
Despite the miss, United held on, giving Ten Hag the much-needed winning start to the new season.
