Manchester United make Premier League history as Joshua Zirkzee enjoys dream debut at Old Trafford

Joshua Zirkzee got his Manchester United career off to a fine start by scoring late in a 1-0 win over Fulham.

The Red Devils looked to be heading for their first goalless draw with the Cottagers in 100 years on Friday night, but summer signing Zirkzee scored in the 87th minute.

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Circus – a £36 million Atalanta's arrival: he came off the bench to receive a cross from Bruno Fernandes and head the ball into the bottom left corner with only his seventh touch.

The result means United have now claimed a record 22 Premier League opening day wins, briefly sending them top of the table.

And they set a Premier League record simply by stepping onto the pitch at the Theatre of Dreams against Fulham.

Their home game on the opening day of the 2024/25 season means that of the last 11 Premier League seasons, United I started with ten at Old Trafford.

In fact, their last eight opening games of the season have all been played at home, making them the first team in Premier League history to start a campaign with a home game in eight consecutive seasons.

United also took revenge on Fulham, who won 2-1 at Old Trafford last season until the end.

It was the Red Devils' first defeat of 2024, and they can count themselves lucky that Fulham failed to capitalise on their numerous second-half chances this time around.

Marco Silva's men were a constant threat on the counterattack, but they failed to find the final lethal ball, and they were made to pay for it.

For United, the team has bounced back brilliantly from last weekend's Community Shield defeat to rivals Manchester City.

And surprisingly, Jadon Sancho, who missed the penalty shootout, has been excluded from the squad, despite an impressive preseason on his return to the club.

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Although summer signing Noussair Mazraoui made his United debut following his move from Bayern Munich.

Starting at right-back, the Moroccan international showed his quality and made an important tackle to deny Alex Iwobi an early goal.

However, his former Bayern teammate Matthijs de Ligtwho joined United in a deal worth £43m, had to settle for a place on the bench.

But the night belongs to Zirkzee, who sparked wild scenes at Old Trafford with a beautiful, skilful finish.

With Rasmus Hojlund out for the foreseeable future, he will now hope to get the nod over Marcus Rashford up front when they visit Brighton next week.

Zirkzee has become the fourth Dutchman after Ruud van Nistelrooy, Donny van de Beek and Alexander Buttner to score on his United debut.

Speaking to Sky Sports after his man-of-the-match performance, he said: “To win here on my debut and score a goal couldn't be better.

“I've been told that (scoring at the Stretford End of Old Trafford) is one of the best feelings there is.

“I'm very lucky to have been able to experience it in my first match. It's an incredible feeling.

“Winning is what the fans deserve, but having that extra feeling (of having scored) is simply beautiful.

“I feel very good here, it's a great team. We want to achieve something big. I'm taking it day by day.”

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