[Annihilate Now!]

Well it was better then last season's opening game...

 

[cj_sparky]

Poor first 20 minutes, although Fulham didn't really do anything thing of note bar maybe one cut back from Traore that Mazrouai reacted well to. We played better in the last 25 minutes of the first half, some nice pressing and wasting chances. Mistake from Leno to set up Bruno's first, Casemiro with a great ball for his second chance and Casemiro's header from a set piece. I still feel it was moments of good passages rather than fully controlled.

Second half was another poor start, Mount was unlucky with another chance. Can't remember many other clear chances, we got lucky twice on two Fulham counters from our mistakes. Lovely play from Zirkzee collecting the ball, laying it off and then getting on the end of Garnacho's ball to score.

It was a game we could have easily won by 3/4 goals based on our chances, but still feel we need a bit more in our performance.

 

[MadDogg]

We were good from the 15th minute up until the 60th. Completely lost control once we made the first subs though, with both Zirkzee and Garnacho barely getting involved for the first 15-20 minutes they were on the field. Mainoo (lack of preseason) and Casemiro (age) tiring around the same time probably also contributed to that.

Mazraoui impressive first match.
Zirkzee struggled to get involved and seemed to take up wrong positions quite a bit when he first came on, but scored the goal then had some further good touches afterwards.
Mount's general play was good and was certainly the leader of our high press, but was lacking a bit in the cutting edge.
Amad mostly good when he had the ball, does need to get on the ball a bit more though.
Maguire had a good game up until his last 10 minutes or so, when he seemed to completely lose his composure on the ball and gifted it back to Fulham multiple times.

 

[Catt]

Some really poor performances, Rashford and Casemiro especially

Good debuts for Zirkzee and Mazraoui

Take the win, didnt like the performance

Jikes

 

[lysglimt]

It wasn't great - but I am already convinced we will have a much better season than last. Fulham are not a bad side

 

[quadrant]

Overall a fair performance. Not amazing , but far from the chaos of last season. First 20 mins I was worried, but after that it was nothing more than the usual resistance you'd expect from a Premier League opponent.

That said I don't think that formation is a goer long term. Just not enough presence in the team up front. Hopefully Zerkzee will get fully fit soon and sort that out for us.

 

[Someone]

Good win. We looked solid defensively but rusty up front. Thought Maguire and Cas were our best players.

 

[lysglimt]

Well it was better then last season's opening game...

By 3 levels....but that is probably the worst win I have ever seen from United.

 

[Herculean]

As ETH said, we are not ready and there yet in terms of injuries and players not getting a chance to train together, so I’ll take this 1-0 victory. Concerning signs but getting wins when not playing well is quite important. Hope we build on this. Great debut for Mazraoui

I remember Fergie saying that the team wasn’t ready going into a new season. I have no issues with EtH stating the same.
Decent start to the season and our new signings look promising.

 

[lysglimt]

Good win. We looked solid defensively but rusty up front. Thought Maguire and Cas were our best players.

And Mazraoui

 

[Yakuza_devils]

Casemiro was the MOTM. Caf wanted him sold. Maguire played well too. Another one Caf wanted him sold. Even McT contributed to the goal by being in the position to distract the defenders. Also, Caf wanted him sold.

 

[AS18_]

Felt we did well up until the changes. Team pressed wellin the first 60mins. Fulham really had trouble playing out and seemed to lose possession.
Seems we are still starting games slow and need the opposition to threaten before we wake up. I will chalk that to first game of the season.

Positives:
Maguire was great today. Really big performance.
Casemiro was magnificent.
Mazroui showing how good he is with only 2 training sessions under his belt. Early days but IF he can stay fit, we will not miss AWB.
Mainoo confidence is sky high. Dribbling and trying flicks. Great game by him up until 60ish min mark where he got tired and then started to drop off.
Garnacho starting the campaign with an assist.
Zirkzee seems like a neat player. Not sure he can lead the line? Seems to operate better as the second striker.


Negatives:
First game of the season. I think we can hold of on the judgments for the time being.

 

[Fr. Todd Unctious]

Poor finishing aside it was decent enough tonight compared to a good chunk of last season. Hopefully Ruud gives them a choice word or two

 

[Pughnichi]

Kinell, the amount of Debbie Downers on here! That was actually quite a solid performance for first game of the season!

I know right. Opening day can always be challenging with lots of unknowns

That was a far cry from last season v wolves where we don’t look at all competitive.

Tonight we were generally on the front foot

 

[Dec9003]

A lot more positive than last seasons opener vs Wolves.

 

[BetRed]

Onana - 6 - Clean sheet but sloopy at times with his feet.

Nazraoui - 7 - Great debut. Did it all really.
Maguirre - 7 - Kept Muniz quiet and won his duels.
Martinez - 6 - We keep a clean sheet but man he could've cost us the game. Sloopy passing and rushes in at times.
Dalot - 6 - Decent game from.

Casemiro - 7 - Motm, was massive for us in the middle. If he can keep this up we look decent in midfield if we get Ugarte as well.
Mainoo - 6 - Good game but seemed to tire and lost the ball a few times.

Amad - 6 - Tries a lot but didn't get much done. The pressing intensity of the PL will take a while to get used to. He'll come good.
Mount - 6 - mixed performance. Does some things great and loses the ball easily at times. He will be useful this season if fit.
Rashford - 6 - Decent perfomarnce but seems to lack confidence.

Bruno - 6 - Should've scored at least one, most likely two.

Garnacho - 6 - The intensity of the games changes with him. Love him and his direct style. Decision making is still an issue but he'll be one of our most important players this season.
Zirkzee - 7 - Goal on his debut but tbh we didn't give a lot to work with. Seemed like we tired completely around minute 75.

The rest didn't play enough to rate.

 

[Dolf]

How is Zirkzee’s English so good

 

[CM]

Improvement required across the board but particularly in the finishing department. We can't afford to play that way if the forwards don't put those chances away.

 

[Mullet_Man]

Fernandes needs to do better, should have scored with both those big chances he had.

Garnacho did well off the bench, miss aside.

Still a big work in progress, all last seasons problems are not going to go away this soon and you could see will still had issues with letting Fulham have way too much time and space in the middle and get forward too easily, thankfully they didn't lead to anything.

A win is a win so let's push on!

 

[TrueRed79]

Great win in the end. We need an elite forward/striker to take us to the next level. This team will never score enough goals. We've struggled for far too long to kill games off.

 

[One Night Only]

Give over, he squared him the ball and he missed. If that was the other way around you’d be slating him for the miss and praising Garnacho for setting it up.

Eh it is a pretty poor pass, Garnacho should have still put it away, neither part was great.

 

[Stack]

Considering how fragmented pre season was with players not available for much of it due to the Euro's thats a valuable 3 points. New players still getting settled etc. Pretty pleased with that win.

 

[Giggsy13]

Should’ve had 3 goals. We largely were in control but for an uncomfortable spell in the 2nd half. You can tell the players need some time to gel but overall far more positives than negatives to take from this one.

 

[OverratedOpinion]

Great win in the end. We need an elite forward/striker to take us to the next level. This team will never score enough goals. We've struggled for far too long to kill games off.

We missed 2 or 3 sitters from players with good scoring records at this level and then a new forward came on played really well and scored a goal.

Could you please expand and make this make sense.

 

[Mullet_Man]

We missed 3 sitters, Bruno, Mount and Garnacho

Thankfully they didn't end up costing us. Positive thing is we had the chances, so let's hope Ruud can continue working on our finishing and it will click.

 

[Kinky Melinky]

I thought it was a truly beautiful goal. I was surprised the commentary team didn't say more about it. Such a natural finish, and not an ounce of luck. We've missed a player like this for so long, if this is a sign of things to come. IF!

 

[Catalandevil]

Solid start to the season! Considering it was the first game, the team put on an impressive performance. We definitely could have netted another goal or two, but the overall display was encouraging.

Special shoutouts to Licha, Martinez, and Casemiro for their standout performances, and Zirkzee for a strong showing. I was a bit surprised to see Bruno continuing in the false 9 role for most of the match, even when the substitutes came on.

This game was a marked improvement over much of last season’s campaign. If we can avoid the injury issues that plagued us before, a top 3 finish is definitely within reach.

One takeaway from today is that we still need reinforcement in midfield—at least one more player. Ideally, someone in the mold of Zubimendi rather than Ugarte, but if Eriksen stays, we might lean towards a defensive midfielder like the Uruguayan.

 

[moodyred]

I have a feeling casemiro's improved play could be due to a more solid background 4 behind him. This allows him to focus more on creating chances and moving forward.

 

[Scottynaldinho]

That kit looks horrible.

 

[fallengt]

Shouldve been 4-0
Leno saved several 1:1s

Casemiro and Maguire played very well, Surprisingly

 

[dubplate warrior]

Some really poor performances, Rashford and Casemiro especially

Good debuts for Zirkzee and Mazraoui

Take the win, didnt like the performance

Casemiro was probably our best player.

 

[Globule]

Great seeing Zirkzee score on his debut. Mazraoui also looked good on his first start.

The negatives are longstanding ones - failing to take good chances, and being way too open in the middle.

 

[siw2007]

On the balance of play, we probably deserved the win. It was an ok performance, there was some good football in moments but we were wasteful in possession and in front of goal which made the game more difficult than it could have been. Really impressed with Zirkzee and Mazraoui, both very good performances. Also hats off to Maguire for a top performance today.

 

[Red9891]

Just glad to get that win. Immensely frustrating to see the finishing of our players. Why do our players never chip or lob the ball over approaching keeper’s? You can’t always slide the ball to either side as the keepers make themselves big. Bruno missed two sitters, Mount too and then don’t remind me about the mess at the end with Rashford and Garnacho. Ruud really needs to get these players working hard and get them to improve their finishing. Unless we improve massively in this regard it will be a long season for us with a lack of goals. But let’s be positive….got the win. Thought our debutants played well. Mazraoui looked good - solid player. De Light I think will become a key player for us and Zirkzee got the goal. Let’s build on this

 

[Superden]

Not only are now 3 pts ahead of city, but also Liverpool and arsenal and ...its ON

 

[swooshboy]

Happy with that.

Our biggest issue last season was our goal difference. I don’t think we missed more chances than other teams, I think we just didn’t create enough.

So the fact we created chances today is encouraging for me

 

[Jeffthered]

Needed the win as it was a typical Man Utd under ETH home performance. Some good, some concerns. It felt like last season.

Good for the Zirkzee debut.

Casimero was our best midfielder, but our play could still be described as scrappy, and opportunistic rather than controlled and clear patterns of play.

 

[DomesticTadpole]

My god Zirkzee is so chilled.

 

[pratyush_utd]

 

[JinnerJamie]

Not only are now 3 pts ahead of city, but also Liverpool and arsenal and ...its ON

we're gonna win the league!!!!