MANCHESTER, UK: Joshua Zirkzee made himself a Manchester United hero on his debut with a late winner to beat Fulham 1-0 in the opening match of the Premier League season on Friday.
Zirkzee, lacking match fitness after his £36.5m ($47 million) move from Bologna last month, came on only for the final half hour.
The Dutch international saved the Red Devils from a frustrating evening at Old Trafford when he poked in Alejandro Garnacho’s cross on 87 minutes.
United boss Erik ten Hag survived at the end of last season, despite finishing eighth in the Premier League, thanks to winning the FA Cup.
Whether that shock victory over rivals and English champions Manchester City in May could be a springboard remains to be seen after a performance that was eerily reminiscent of many last season.
Ten Hag said on the eve of the game that his side were “not ready” for the new campaign with key players missing through injury or a lack of match fitness, and it showed.
Bruno Fernandes started in a center-forward role in the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, while Zirkzee was on the bench after returning to pre-season late following Euro 2024.
Noussair Mazraoui was thrown straight into the starting line-up at left-back after joining from Bayern Munich this week.
But there was no place in the squad for Jadon Sancho even though the winger and Ten Hag appeared to have settled their differences.
Fulham won at Old Trafford last season for the first time in 20 years in February during a torrid campaign for United.
Little seemed to have changed in the opening 20 minutes as the visitors started confidently and Andre Onana did well to prevent Kenny Tete’s dipping effort finding the top corner.
But Fulham were nearly masters of their own downfall.
Casemiro pounced on Bernd Leno’s sloppy pass and teed up Fernandes, who could only fire straight at Fulham’s German goalkeeper.
Casemiro’s struggles played a large part in United’s problems last season, but the Brazilian started the new campaign more like his old self.
An incisive through ball from the former Real Madrid midfielder created another brilliant chance for Fernandes, who again could not beat Leno from close range.
United’s lack of a predatory striker continued to haunt them after the break as Leno spread himself brilliantly to this time deny Mason Mount a rare goal since his move from Chelsea just over a year ago.
Ten Hag turned to Garnacho and Zirkzee from the bench in the search of a winner.
In doing so United left themselves open and Fulham could have secured another famous three points at the Theatre of Dreams.
Andreas Pereira’s poor pass cost Alex Iwobi the chance to run clean through on goal.
Moments later Lisandro Martinez produced a goal-saving clearance from Pereira’s dangerous low cross.
Instead it was the home side that snatched all three points.
Garnacho’s ball from the right was not the best, but Zirkzee managed to get a toe on it to divert it beyond Leno into the far corner.
United should have had a second in stoppage time when Garnacho somehow skewed wide with an open goal to aim at from Marcus Rashford’s unselfish pass.
But United held on to give Ten Hag the winning start he badly needed.
Zirkzee an instant hero as Man Utd beat Fulham in Premier League opener
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Zirkzee an instant hero as Man Utd beat Fulham in Premier League opener
- The Dutch international saved the Red Devils from a frustrating evening
Salama smashes course record with sensational 60 at Madinaty
- Spaniard cards 10-under-par round with 9 birdies and a chip-in eagle to lead by four in Egypt
CAIRO: Spain’s Juan Salama fired a sensational 10-under-par course record of 60 to take a four-shot lead after the opening round of the Egypt Golf Series.
Salama’s stunning round at Madinaty Golf Club bettered the previous record of 63 and included nine birdies and a chip-in eagle on the par-five ninth — his final hole of the day after the field started on the 10th.
The Spaniard, who finished runner-up to Jack Davidson in last week’s play-off at Address Marassi, dropped his only shot of the day on the eighth hole, meaning a par there would have given him the magical 59.
“It was definitely an early start today — I was up at 3:45 a.m. stretching, breakfast at 4:30, and we arrived at the course around 5:30, so I was warming up in the dark, which was pretty crazy,” said Salama.
“But it actually went really well. I love being first out because the greens are perfect with no footprints and the ball rolls beautifully. The conditions here at Madinaty Golf Club have been fantastic all week.
“I made nine birdies with just one dropped shot, and on the last hole I really fancied the chip-in for eagle. My personal best round is nine under, so I went for it and it paid off. I feel like my game has been in a really good place the last couple of weeks. I’ve been working hard, my family has been a huge support, and my wife keeps me very disciplined, so it’s nice to see that work paying off.”
Last week’s winner Jack Davidson is the closest pursuer after a six-under 64 that included seven birdies and just one dropped shot at the par-five 13th — his fourth hole of the day.
“It was a similar situation to last week, chasing Juan Salama again, but I’m really happy with six under,” said Davidson. “The wind made it tough at times, but I managed to hole a few nice putts and keep the momentum going after last week’s play-off win.
“The up-and-down on eight was a big moment. It’s one of the hardest holes on the course, so saving par there and going on to make birdie at the last was huge. With an early tee time tomorrow, hopefully we get slightly better conditions and fresher greens.”
Four players currently share third place at five under par: Argentina’s Gaston Bertinotti, Wales’ Owen Edwards, Germany’s Tim Tillmanns and Italy’s Ludovico Addabbo, who sits second in the MENA Golf Tour Rankings.
“It was a great round, to be honest. I played really solid,” said Bertinotti. “The course was playing pretty tough — really firm and fast, especially on the downhill shots — and the wind picked up after the fourth hole, which made things even more challenging.
“The wind makes the course a lot more challenging. There are holes where you can be hitting three clubs less than normal from the rough because the ball just doesn’t stop downwind. Both nines are tough in different ways. On the front you hit more drivers, and on the back there are a lot of demanding iron shots, especially with the par threes and the water in play.”
Rankings leader Chris Wood is absent this week as he competes in the Qatar Masters on the DP World Tour, and with Addabbo well placed heading into round two, there is an opportunity to close the gap at the top of the standings.
The Egyptian contingent found the windy conditions challenging but took plenty of positives from the experience of competing against the international field.
“Conditions are pretty tough with the wind,” said Ahmed Morgan, who carded an 81. “When I played this course on the Asian Tour without wind it was much easier, but with these conditions there are some really demanding holes. The greens are very fast, so it’s difficult to hold them, which makes knocking it close to the pin the key this week.”
Amateur Abdelrahman El-Defrawy echoed those sentiments after his opening 78.
“It was pretty tough out there with the wind, but the course itself is in great condition,” he said.
“The wind was probably the biggest challenge, especially with judging yardages between clubs. But that’s all part of the experience — playing under this kind of pressure is something I’ll take a lot from going forward.”
