The former Bologna striker quickly wins the hearts of English fans, with the goal that spares Ten Hag the first criticisms of the season
New season, same old United? For long stretches of this debut against Fulham, it certainly seemed that way, until Joshua Zirkzee reminded the over 73,000 at Old Trafford that the tune has changed. In the 87th minute of his Premier League debut that started 26 minutes earlier, the striker who the Red Devils recruited from Bologna not only netted his first career goal in the English league but also scored the 1-0 against Fulham, allowing United to kick off what must be a season of revival with a win. Ten Hag still has a monumental amount of work to do, and this version of the Red Devils is far from what the Dutch coach has in mind (no, not a copy of his Ajax which he continues to buy players from), but a victory with a goal from a new acquisition is just what was needed to suggest that this is the start of a new era, not yet another season at United asking why things stopped working since Sir Alex Ferguson left.
THE KEYS
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Fulham was for a long time the more dangerous team, but United’s success is deserved. Zirkzee deserves the platonic title of man of the match: the goal is the tip of the iceberg of an excellent half-hour from the 23-year-old who starred in Serie A last year with Bologna. Ten Hag sent him onto the pitch in the 61st minute, asking him to be the offensive reference point for a team that had until that moment accomplished little with Bruno Fernandes as a false 9 (the Portuguese, who recently renewed his contract, was nonetheless one of the best on the field). Zirkzee gave United a new dimension, that offensive reference point needed to dismantle well-organized defenses like Fulham’s. It’s a start for him, it’s a fresh start for a team that is still desperately seeking an identity under Ten Hag. The injury curse, one of the problems from last season, has already sidelined promising 18-year-old Leny Yoro, Rasmus Højlund, and Luke Shaw, but United seems better equipped than last year, even though the team still needs some fine-tuning (preferably after some sales). Fulham also needs reinforcements: Emile Smith Rowe, the most expensive purchase in the club’s history, is visibly rusty, and the sale of Palhinha has robbed the midfield of personality. United, with all its flaws, also took advantage of others’ limitations.
THE MATCH
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Bruno Fernandes had the two best chances of the first half, which concluded without goals, with Fulham being the better team for the first 20 minutes and United progressively growing. The second half resumed with no substitutions, with the home team immediately posing a threat and Ten Hag bringing Zirkzee on a quarter of an hour in. It was the winning move, as in the 87th minute the former Bologna player set off a celebration at the Theatre of Dreams, his new home, finishing off a play that he himself had started by collecting an assist from Garnacho. The new United will still have the “under construction” sign, but this goal from Zirkzee that decided the Premier debut against Fulham is an encouraging start.