Manchester United started their Premier League season with a 1-0 win over Fulham at Old Trafford on Friday night.
A debut goal for Joshua Zirkzee was enough to secure three points as United got off to the perfect start.
It shows early signs of an improvement on last season – beating a side that got the better of us at Old Trafford, but a lot more work is required to get to where we need to be.
Here are three things we learned from United’s first game of the season.
Team shape helped Casemiro
A lot of United fans wanted Casemiro sold this summer and his form during pre-season was a concern, but the Brazilian played well against Fulham. It helped that he did not look isolated in the middle of the pitch as was often the case last term.
United started the game with a box midfield and there was more protection to play with a high line in the first half as a result. It was promising and hopefully, for Casemiro’s sake, we see more of this in the coming weeks. Erik ten Hag also opted for two false 9s instead of one central forward, with Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes sharing the attacking responsibilities from the start.
Casemiro looks leaner than he did last year and he regularly found himself in attacking positions against the Cottagers. He had three headers from set plays, with one from a corner bouncing into the ground and striking the side netting.
His performance showed he still has a role in this team whether Manuel Ugarte joins from Paris Saint-Germain or not.
Mazraoui solid at right-back
Another former Bayern Munich man will dominate the headlines, but Mazraoui’s performance was promising considering he has only had two or three days training with his new team-mates.
Most fans are expecting to see a lot from Mazraoui in the final third of the pitch, but the Moroccan did not put a foot out of place defensively on Friday night.
He made a crucial block within the first 15 minutes and intervened a dangerous low cross Alex Iwobi in the second half.
Diogo Dalot may struggle to get his right-back spot from Mazraoui if he can stay fit.
Heroic debut from Zirkzee
The physical Dutch centre-forward came on with just half an hour remaining on the clock.
Zirkzee initially struggled to get involved until the final three minutes of normal time when he made the vital impact.
Alejandro Garnacho’s cross was coverted by Zirkzee, who flicked the ball into the bottom corner of the net as United secured three points.
Zirkzee becomes the third Dutch player at United to score on his Premier League debut. A heroic goal when the Reds needed it most.
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