Manchester United picked up a 1-0 victory over Fulham with Joshua Zirkzee netting a late winner against the Cottagers.
Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs De Ligt and Joshua Zirkzee all made their Premier League debuts for Manchester United during the rather dull victory against Fulham.
It was a game of few chances for the Red Devils as they struggled to break down Fulham’s defensive line.
Here are five things we learned from United’s 1-0 win against Fulham.
Noussair Mazraoui impresses for Man United
Despite Mazraoui only signing from Bayern Munich earlier this week, the defender was handed a start by Erik ten Hag and the Moroccan impressed at right-back, with Diogo Dalot playing at left-back.
Mazraoui looked good on the ball and formed a good connection with Amad Diallo on the right-hand side an the defender certainly looked comfortable in the Premier League, despite this being the right-back’s first appearance in England’s top division.
Despite this being the first game of Mazraoui’s United career, the Moroccan looks to be right at home at Old Trafford.
Casemiro was all over the pitch for United
The Brazilian midfielder looked much better against Manchester City in the Community Shield and, after a slow start, Casemiro once again looked back to his best against Fulham.
Casemiro was all over the pitch for the Red Devils. Whether he was breaking up play in the middle of the pitch or taking shots from the edge of the box, the former Real Madrid midfielder was all over the pitch.
He certainly looks slimmer than he did last season and this campaign will be a key one for Casemiro to prove himself.
United’s struggles from cutbacks continue
One of the big issues for United last season was the gaps in midfield that led to opposition midfielders creating chance after chance which would eventually lead to the Red Devils conceding a lot of goals.
Whilst this game against Fulham at Old Trafford didn’t lead to as many counterattacks as the 1-0 victory over Wolves last season did, there was still some counterattacks from the Cottagers.
Adama Traore caused Lisandro Martinez some problems before cutting the ball back to the edge of the box where Mazraoui intercepted and there is certainly cause for concern.
Joshua Zirkzee makes goalscoring United debut
Erik ten Hag brought on the domineering Dutch centre-forward with just half an hour to play and the former Bologna striker certainly looked physical.
Despite Joshua Zirkzee coming on with United needing a goal, the Dutchman struggled to get involved until the final three minutes but it was the Dutchman who made the vital impact.
Alejandro Garnacho put in a dangerous cross into the box and there was Zirkzee to flick the ball into the bottom corner to hand United the three points.
Harry Maguire proves to be vital for United
Whilst all of the talk over the transfer window has been about United signing Leny Yoro and Matthijs De Ligt, Harry Maguire remains one of the most consistent players for the Red Devils.
During the second half of the game against Fulham, Martinez slid in for a tackle but Fulham broke on the counter-attack and temporarily were four on one but Maguire stood his ground and won the ball back for the Red Devils.
United’s issues against dealing with counterattacks were once again on show for all to see but the Englishman stood up to the task of dealing with the Cottagers.
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