17 August 2024, Kathmandu. In a thrilling Premier League match against Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday, Joshua Zirkzee made his Manchester United debut in spectacular fashion by scoring the game-winning goal. The 87th-minute strike, assisted by Alejandro Garnacho, sealed a 1-0 victory for the Red Devils and capped off an exciting, hard-fought contest.
The game was tightly contested from the outset, with Manchester United controlling possession but struggling to break down a determined Fulham defense. Despite several chances from Marcus Rashford and Bruno Fernandes, Fulham held firm until the final minutes.
Zirkzee, signed during the summer transfer window, came off the bench to make his first appearance for United, and he wasted no time making an impact. With just minutes left on the clock, Garnacho whipped in a cross from the right flank, and Zirkzee scored a goal, sending the home crowd into ecstasy.
When JZ found out why it's called the Theatre of Dreams 😍🔊#MUFC pic.twitter.com/fF4GFt9yx3
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) August 16, 2024
United coach ten Hag shared his views post-match with Sky Sports: “Subs are always very important referring to Zirkzee’s winner. It was good to see in the first game. You bring him in and he scores in the first game. It helps the spirit of the group. Shows the subs that they have to be ready for anything. Against Fulham, it is always a difficult game. We pressed really well. After 10-12 minutes we found our spell in the game and kept them under pressure. They couldn’t come out of the pressure which was good. We created a lot of chances and should have scored earlier. That is my only criticism of the team we need to be better in the box. Always very important regarding keeping the clean sheet. Two seasons ago, we had the most clean sheets in the league,” he said. When we have a consistent back four, we can defend more properly. If you don’t have a consistent back four, with no patterns or routines, then the gaps will show. Mazraoui is a great defender and very calm on the ball. Very pleased with his performance. He just needs to build his fitness. It is just the first game, but good to see the belief and confidence in the team. Not only to win, but the performance as well.”
The goal-scorer, Zirkzee said: “To win here in my first home game and to grab a goal, it couldn’t be better. I’ve been told it is one of the best feelings to score in front of the Stretford End, so I am thankful and blessed to experience it in the first game. It’s an amazing feeling. At the end of the day, we got the win. It is what the fans deserved. The squad is very nice, and I feel very warmly welcomed here. It’s a good team, and we want to achieve something great. It’s been a dream. Just taking it in day by day. Just want to help the team as much as possible. Manchester United is a huge club, so need to always strive for the best. That means giving it my 100 percent, which is the plan.”
Fulham manager Silva shared his views post-match with Sky Sports: “It is really tough for us to lose this game the way we lost. The game had different moments. We started really well, but I think the first two dangerous moments were from ourselves. The first one we should have scored from a really dangerous attack. After 20 minutes, there was a good reaction from Manchester United. We adjusted at half-time, and the second half was much better in my opinion. We had so many moments and we were punished at the end of the game. It was a crazy game and we did not play our own game. It was an emotional game – we tried to rush many, many times. We did not get the points I thought we deserved,” he said. Of course, when you have a two against one situation, you should at least finalise the action and put your teammates in the right action. But it was not just that one. We had other really good moments and should have scored. We have to keep the emotional control in these types of games. We know they are strong and want to play this type of game. It’s always their strength when the game is broken and the space is there. We should have kept the balance and emotional control. But it was a good answer from the team overall, we just didn’t get the points I think we should have. It was a tough summer, when you lose five players – four of them starting players. But I knew the players were good enough to play in this way.”
Fulham showed resilience throughout the match however, their efforts weren’t enough, and they will now look to regroup and lick their wounds ahead of their next game against Leicester City on August 24. Manchester United will carry the momentum from this victory into their upcoming clash against Brighton on the same day, which promises to be an exciting fixture as the Red Devils look to build on Zirkzee’s heroic debut performance.
