Joshua Zirkzee made an impression at Manchester United by netting a last-minute goal on his debut, leading Erik ten Hag’s team to a narrow 1-0 victory over Fulham.
The £35m forward, recently signed from Bologna, entered the match as a substitute and skillfully redirected Alejandro Garnacho’s cross with just three minutes left in regular time, after United had found it difficult to penetrate Marco Silva’s defensive setup.
In his third season at Old Trafford, Erik ten Hag has the backing of new co-owners Sir Jim Ratcliffe and INEOS. The campaign kicked off with a victory, yet there remain numerous challenges to address. Fulham dominated the initial phase, with Kenny Tete forcing Andrea Onana into a solid save from 25 yards.
As the first half progressed, United started to gain momentum, prompting mistakes from the visitors. One such error allowed Bernd Leno to misplay a pass directly to Casemiro, who set up the makeshift striker Bruno Fernandes. However, Leno redeemed himself with a good save. Moments later, he denied the Manchester United captain again from a close distance following a well-executed move by the hosts.
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Tete has the first shot of the match, forcing Onana to tip the ball over the bar.
After the break, Leno continued his impressive performance, saving a close-range shot from Mason Mount. At the opposite end, Onana had to remain vigilant, managing to tip Rodrigo Muniz’s deflected acrobatic volley over the bar.
With half an hour left, United introduced Zirkzee for his debut, though the change struggled to create an immediate effect. Instead, it was Fulham who appeared more threatening on the counter, with Andreas Pereira squandering two promising chances during breaks led by Adama Traore due to inaccurate passes.
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Leno makes a significant error, fumbling the ball to the Man Utd attack before quickly denying a shot from Manchester United’s captain, Bruno Fernandez.
However, with only a few minutes left on the clock, Zirkzee converted Garnacho’s assist with his seventh touch of the match, allowing Ten Hag to breathe a sigh of relief and experience a surge of victory.
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to Old Trafford at the beginning of the new season.
Garnacho had an opportunity to present an early candidate for miss of the season, failing to convert Marcus Rashford’s square pass with the goal wide open.
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Alejandro Garnacho fails to convert a crucial opportunity to extend Manchester United’s lead against Fulham.
