Debutant Zirkzee’s dream goal gives United narrow win in PL opener
The 23-year-old, who recently joined from Bologna, was brought on in the second half and made an immediate impact by scoring the decisive goal just three minutes from time.
Joshua Zirkzee's late heroics secured a dramatic victory for Manchester United in their Premier League opener, as they edged past Fulham 1-0 at Old Trafford.
Fulham, who came into the match with confidence, dominated large spells of the game.
United handed debuts to Noussair Mazraoui, who joined from Bayern Munich, while Matthijs de Ligt and Zirkzee were introduced later in the match.
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Meanwhile, Marco Silva gave Emile Smith Rowe his first start for Fulham since his transfer, bolstering a lineup that featured seven players from the team that won at Old Trafford last January.
The visitors started brightly, with Adama Traore causing problems down the right flank.
Mazraoui was tested early, making a crucial sliding tackle to prevent Alex Iwobi from opening the scoring. Fulham continued to press, with Kenny Tete's long-range effort drawing a flying save from Andre Onana, another summer signing for United.
Mason Mount, making just his second start for United since October, was involved in the action but struggled to find the back of the net.
His shot was denied by Bernd Leno, who also thwarted Bruno Fernandes on multiple occasions.
Fernandes had two clear opportunities in the first half but was denied both times by the excellent Fulham keeper, who kept the score level as United looked for a breakthrough.
After the break, Fulham remained on the front foot. Smith Rowe was lively before being replaced by Tom Cairney, and Rodrigo Muniz nearly gave the visitors the lead with an acrobatic volley, only for Onana to tip it over the bar. United's defense, led by Lisandro Martinez and Harry Maguire, was put under significant pressure, but they managed to hold firm.
Ten Hag decided to introduce Zirkzee, along with Garnacho and Amad, to inject some much-needed energy into United's attack.
The move paid off as Zirkzee made the decisive contribution in the 87th minute. After spreading the ball wide to Garnacho on the right, he continued his run into the box and was perfectly positioned to volley home the cross, sending the ball past Leno and into the bottom corner.
Fulham pushed for an equalizer, but United's defense stood strong.
Garnacho had a chance to seal the win in added time after Marcus Rashford set him up, but he missed an open goal.
Despite the late scare, United held on to secure a narrow victory and get their Premier League campaign off to a winning start.
