I feel like that says it all.
Winning's winning.
Erik ten Hag and his Man Utd side began the 24/25 season much like they did 23/24. A scrappy, squeaky bum 1-0 win at home to a mid-table side to get up and running doesn't exactly fill everyone with confidence.
The win at the least, doesn't ruin everyone's weekend and does bring in some positivity for the future but with this club, it's never easy.
The home side started off much the slower of the two as Fulham looked a lot sharper, a lot quicker and more understanding of what they needed to do. There was no panic to their play and they worked the ball well.
Marco Silva's side did so well in fact, that they created a great chance through Adama Traore who flew past Lisandro Martinez as if he wasn't there before playing in a cross to Alex Iwobi that was superbly cutout by new signing Noussair Mazraoui, who made quite the impression on his debut.
The first 20 minutes continued in favor of the away team as the Cottagers were in control.
The good thing for United was that the score remained at 0-0 during this period of dominance by the team from London.
Eventually though, ten Hag saw his team wake up as they managed to gain some level of control. United started to work the ball a bit more and with confidence, the defensive line started to push a little higher with the only issue being creating clear-cut opportunities.
In saying that, United's best chances did come from a new and brilliant high press. This forced Fulham into errors at the back and allowed MUFC to have a couple of good goal scoring chances.
However, an issue the manager has complained about is in not taking our opportunities. Bruno Fernandes was particulalry at fault as he missed two chances that he would usually score with his eyes closed.
The through ball for that second opportunity by Casemiro to the skipper was something the magnifico himself would've been proud. Unfortunately, he couldn't put it in the back of the net.
That first period was a game of two halves.
The second began much like the first as United came out a little flat-footed with Fulham looking the more refreshed.
Much like the first period though, the home team grew into the game and got that control back.
But by the hour mark, it was clear to see that changes needed to be made. That is exactly what Erik ten Hag did as he took off Mason Mount and Amad for Alejandro Garnacho and new boy Joshua Zirkzee. This was the first time we saw him in a United shirt as he hasn't featured at all since his arrival.
The match then went into a sort of basketball match-like period where it was end-to-end but with neither side being able to land what probably would've been a killer blow.
As United pushed for the winner, this resulted in clear gaps especially in the midfield which is a problem that we had from last season. This meant that Fulham had easy counters with a couple of them seeing 2-v-1s and 3-v-2s.
If not for a great interception by Harry Maguire from a pass from Andreas Pereira to Alex Iwobi in a 2-v-1 situation, this game would most likely have seen a different outcome.
In the 87th minute however, a star is born?
The two substitutes Garnacho and Zirkzee combined to give the Dutchman a goal on his debut. A lovely one-time cross by Garnacho saw the ball come to Zirkzee who placed it superbly well into the bottom corner. Not the easiest of finishes with his left-foot but he made it look so smooth.
This was a typical striker's goal in terms of his arrival time and type of finish.
That goal proved to be enough as United managed to hold on despite Garnacho missing an open goal late on. Yes, he did.
Erik ten Hag will be pleased with the overall display as I do believe there were more positives to take from it than negatives.
That high press is not something we've seen from United too often and is clearly something that they've been working on. The amount of turnovers we won, blocks made, tackles won and mistakes we caused from Fulham were all something to smile about.
Nonetheless, his side still showcased some of the issues they had from last season. The defence was still relatively deep, his midfield was exposed at times and his team didn't take their chances. These are all areas that he would've wanted to see some improvement.
“When we have our consistent back four, we will defend properly with a high line and the midfield and wingers can get forward. Without a consistent back four, there is no pattern and routines and that's when gaps appear.”
This quote by the manager speaks volumes about what he thinks about our defence and overall style.
Ratings
Onana - 6
Dalot - 6.5
Maguire - 7.5 MOTM
Martinez - 6.5
Mazraoui - 7
Casemiro - 6.5
Mainoo - 6.5
Bruno - 6
Amad - 5.5
Mount - 6
Rashford - 6
Garnacho - 7
Zirkzee - 7.5
De Ligt - 6
Evans - 6
McTominay - 6
Erik ten Hag - 6.5
Final Thoughts
Solid enough performance in the end. Not the greatest way to start the season in terms of that performance but the win was all that mattered.
I was surprised at the starting XI to see the likes of Mazraoui and Mount start but I think their selection was warranted.
There were those same problems that appeared from last season that perhaps on another day, would've been punished by the opposition so we really need to improve on those.
But all in all, a much better performance than that crap against Wolves at the start of last season and it at least gives us something to build upon.
And for God sakes, CAN WE NOT BLOODY TAKE OUR CHANCES!!!!
Will find us in trouble sooner or later.
For now though, TOP OF THE LEAGUE! TOP SCORER! MOST CLEAN SHEETS! MY CLUB ARE BACK 🙌😭
Background Image: Joshua Zirkzee scores the winner against Fulham on his Man Utd debut | Image credit: Getty Images via Eurosport