Three standout Man United players vs Fulham as Erik ten Hag makes stern statement

There were three stand-out players for Manchester United in their 1-0 victory against Fulham in their opening Premier League clash of the season.

United kicked off their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a positive performance and result against Fulham.

Despite a strong performance, the Reds initially struggled to convert their chances. Bruno Fernandes came closest in the first half, but Bernd Leno denied him twice.

Erik ten Hag’s team was impressive in their pressing and created several opportunities, but the finishing touch eluded them until Joshua Zirkzee’s late impact.

The Dutch striker scored a brilliant goal in the dying moments, securing victory for his new team on his debut.

He was one of several players to stand out on the night.

Noussair Mazraoui

Noussair Mazraoui started in his first game for the club and operated at right-back, as Diogo Dalot switched to the left side of the defence.

The former Bayern Munich fullback really shined for The Reds. His calmness on the ball that Ten Hag mentioned beforehand was extremely evident and helped United beat the press on several occasions.

However, his defensive play was equally impressive, with an important tackle at a cutback. He won most of his one-versus-one duels and looked strong when defending the back post.

Kobbie Mainoo

Kobbie Mainoo had no pre-season but you couldn’t tell whatsoever. He was one of United’s best players and was orchestrating the play for Ten Hag’s side throughout the game.

More importantly, however, the teenager was excellent in his duels in the engine room, something that was an area for him to improve from last season.

He won 13 duels in the game, more than any other player. He also won all three of his attempted tackles.

Joshua Zirkzee

Of course, the goalscorer Zirkzee also impressed for The Reds, but not only through his goal.

While the Dutchman was not hugely involved in his 30-minute cameo, he was able to produce several flicks and touches that showed why he considers himself to be a ‘9.5’ player.

Before his goal, we saw him drop into a space to receive the ball from Bruno Fernandes. He then turned and played the ball wide before getting on the end of the cross.

He is a connector, and that could be very valuable to United’s attack this season.

Meanwhile, Ten Hag made a stern statement about the defensive unit at Old Trafford after the 1-0 victory.

He told beIN SPORTS to not compare the defence with last year, stating that the starting back four on Friday evening was a ‘proper’ defence.

He said: “You can’t compare with last year. We didn’t have a back four as we had today, so this back four is a proper back four.

“Class players who know their job and do their job and know also how to collaborate and that was a big difference in many games last season.

“Where we had to make so many compromises to construct a back four, so don’t compare this with many games from last season.”

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