Joshua Zirkzee, Manchester United’s new signing, scored the decisive goal in a hard-fought victory against Fulham, showcasing his potential in the Premier League.
On Friday, Joshua Zirkzee became a Manchester United legend by scoring the winning goal in his debut game and leading them to victory over Fulham with a 1-0 score as they kicked off the Premier League season.
Zirkzee, who recently transferred from Bologna for a whopping £36.5m ($47 million), had insufficient match fitness and was subbed in during the last 30 minutes only.
On the 87th minute, the Dutch player rescued the Red Devils from an exasperating night at Old Trafford by nudging Alejandro Garnacho’s cross into goal.
Erik ten Hag, the manager of United, managed to keep his job after finishing 8th in the Premier League last season due to winning the FA Cup.
It is yet to be determined if the unexpected triumph against rivals and champions, Manchester City, in May will serve as a launching pad after exhibiting a performance that closely resembled numerous ones from last season.
On the eve of the game, Ten Hag stated that due to injuries or lack of match fitness amongst key players, his team was “not prepared” for the new season and this became evident during their performance.
In the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, Bruno Fernandes assumed a centre-forward position while Zirkzee commenced his pre-season late due to Euro 2024 and consequently began on the bench.
Having recently come from Bayern Munich, Noussair Mazraoui was immediately thrust into the starting line-up as a left-back.
Despite settling their differences, Jadon Sancho was not included in the squad by Ten Hag.
During a difficult season for United, Fulham secured their first win at Old Trafford in 20 years last February.
Despite the visitors’ confident start, there appeared to be little change in the first 20 minutes. However, Andre Onana managed to stop Kenny Tete’s shot from dipping into the top corner with his exceptional goalkeeping skills.
However, Fulham came dangerously close to being responsible for their own failure.
After seizing Bernd Leno’s haphazard delivery, Casemiro promptly set up Fernandes for a shot that unfortunately headed directly towards Fulham’s German netminder.
The challenges faced by Casemiro greatly contributed to United’s difficulties in the previous season, but this year he has begun performing more similarly to how he used to.
Another excellent opportunity emerged for Fernandes as a result of the sharp and insightful through ball delivered by the ex-Real Madrid midfielder, but once again he was unable to defeat Leno when up close.
After the break, United’s ongoing struggle to find a striker with killer instinct continued to be their downfall. Despite Mason Mount having not scored since his transfer from Chelsea over a year ago, Leno impressively defended against him and prevented what could have been a rare opportunity for goal-scoring.
In his quest for a victor, Ten Hag looked towards Garnacho and Zirkzee as he made substitutions from the sidelines.
By doing this, United left themselves vulnerable and gave Fulham the opportunity to secure another memorable triumph at the Theatre of Dreams.
Due to Andreas Pereira’s poor pass, Alex Iwobi missed the opportunity to advance towards goal without any obstruction.
Shortly after, Lisandro Martinez made a clearance that saved the goal from Pereira’s risky cross close to the ground.
On the contrary, it was the team playing on their home ground who secured a victory with three points.
Despite Garnacho’s ball from the right not being of high quality, Zirkzee skillfully nudged it with his toe, directing it past Leno and into the far corner.
In the stoppage time, United missed out on a second goal as Garnacho failed to hit it right despite an open target gifted by Marcus Rashford’s unselfish pass.
United managed to hold on and provide Ten Hag with the much-needed victory in his early days.
