| General |
 | |||||||
| |||||||
| HT:0–0 Report | |||||||
| Event | Premier League 2023-24 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date | Friday 16 August 2024 | ||||||
| Venue | Old Trafford, Manchester | ||||||
| Player of the Match | Joshua Zirkzee | ||||||
| Referee | Robert Jones | ||||||
| Attendance | 73,297 | ||||||
| Weather | 16 °C (61 °F) | ||||||
← Man Utd - Man City Fulham - Hoffenheim Man Utd - Brighton Fulham - Leicester City → | |||||||
Manchester United v Fulham was a match which took place at Old Trafford on Friday 16 August 2024.
Team News[]
Manchester United[]
Manchester United's new £52m signing Leny Yoro will miss the first three months of the season after injuring his foot in a pre-season friendly against Arsenal.
Rasmus Højlund and Luke Shaw are also out injured, while Harry Maguire will be assessed after being hurt in the Community Shield.
New signings Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui could come into contention.
Fulham[]
Fulham are expected to have a fully fit squad ahead of the game.
Emile Smith-Rowe should make his competitive debut for the Cottagers after joining for a club record fee.
Head coach Marco Silva says it will take time for the midfielder to find his best physical level, but is confident he can "make the difference".
Match facts[]
Head-to-head[]
- Manchester United have lost just four of their 34 Premier League meetings with Fulham (W24, D6).
- But the Cottagers won their most recent encounter in February, ending an 18-match winless run against United with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford.
- Fulham are looking to win consecutive away league visits to Manchester United for the first time.
Manchester United[]
- Manchester United are the first side in Premier League history to start a season with a home game in eight consecutive seasons.
- They have won their opening top-flight fixture a record 21 times.
- United were eighth in the Premier League last season, their lowest league finish since ending 1989-90 in 13th place.
- The Red Devils lost nine home matches in all competitions last season, equalling the club record for most competitive home defeats in a single campaign.
Fulham[]
- Fulham have finished 10th and 13th in the last two seasons after their previous three Premier League campaigns ended in relegation.
- The Cottagers won four Premier League away fixtures last season, including their victory against Manchester United at Old Trafford (D6, L9).
- Marco Silva is unbeaten in all six opening fixtures as a manager in English league football (W1, D5).
- Emile Smith Rowe scored 10 goals in 33 Premier League games for Arsenal in 2021-22 but failed to net in all 25 top-flight appearances in the two seasons since.
Match Report[]
Manchester United's £36m new-boy Joshua Zirkzee became an instant Old Trafford hero as he scored an 87th-minute winner against Fulham.
The former Bologna forward came on with Alejandro Garnacho after an hour as United struggled to find a breakthrough against Marco Silva's side.
And the pair combined in the nick of time as the Argentina winger crossed from the right and Zirkzee calmly steered the ball into the bottom corner in a hammer blow for Fulham.
After a slow start, during which Andre Onana tipped an early Kenny Tete effort over, it was United who had carried the greater threat.
But three times they were denied by superb saves from Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Twice United skipper Bruno Fernandes was repelled, the second stop bringing yells of frustration from the Portuguese midfielder. The third time it was Mason Mount who only had Leno to beat as Marcus Rashford crossed from the left.
In front of co-chair Avie Glazer, who was making a rare visit to this stadium, and new chief executive Omar Berrada, Fernandes curled another effort straight at Leno.
United were not to be denied though. Erik ten Hag might have said his side were not ready for the game. But they still managed to win it.
The euphoria that accompanied the final whistle was in keeping with the optimism that surrounded United in the build-up to the game.
Zirkzee took the acclaim in such a calm manner it was reminiscent of another Dutchman, who has returned to these parts, in Ruud van Nistelrooy, who is now a senior figure in Ten Hag's coaching team.
The home supporters sang the ex-United and Netherlands striker's name as he made his way to the dressing rooms, confirmation of the status he still has at the club.
If Zirkzee gets anywhere close to the 150 goals in five seasons Van Nistelrooy managed for United, he will have done extremely well.
As it is, just like the 23-year-old's illustrious fellow countryman, he scored on his Premier League debut against Fulham.
Any late nerves at Old Trafford should have been eased by Garnacho but he somehow managed to fire wide after being set up by Rashford.
When the elation subsides thanks will also be due to Harry Maguire, who managed to intervene when former United midfielder Andreas Pereira looked certain to send Alex Iwobi through on Onana's goal midway through the second period, when the game was still deadlocked.
It will be a frustrating trip back to London for Silva, whose side started brightly and came so close to securing a point.
Given the home side had lost to three of their main Premier League rivals in pre-season, still didn't have an orthodox left-back and started without a central striker, United's pre-match optimism didn't appear to be based on the firmest of foundations.
Fulham duly exposed United's weaknesses and for the first quarter of the game carried by far the greater threat.
Tete might have gone closest for the visitors but their most potent attacking weapon was Adama Traore.
The former Middlesbrough and Wolves winger can be a frustrating figure. He is one of the fastest, most direct players in the game and because of that, he is a major danger. But too often, the threat he poses peters out into very little.
It was the same here. Traore flew into the box, got himself into the perfect position to cut the ball back to a team-mate, and allowed the pass to be intercepted by United debutant Noussair Mazraoui.
He was off target with a decent chance not long afterwards and when he attacked the home goal for a third time, Lisandro Martinez stepped in to simply ease him away from the ball.
This all meant Fulham failed to make the most of their best spell and once Pereira contrived to blow one chance and Martinez was then allowed to snuff out the danger from what was initially a four-on-two counter, they were always at risk of a nasty late surprise.
Match[]
Details[]
| 16 August 2024 20:00 BST Live on Sky Sports |
Manchester United 
|
1–0 |  Fulham
|
Old Trafford, Manchester Attendance: 73,297 Referee: Robert Jones |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Zirkzee  87'
|
HT:0–0 Report |
          Manchester United
|
    Fulham
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Man of the Match:
Assistant referees:
|
Match rules
|
Match Stats[]
| Manchester United | Fulham |
|---|
| Possession ball | |
| 55% | 45% |
| Shots | |
| 14 | 10 |
| Shots on target | |
| 5 | 2 |
| Corners | |
| 7 | 8 |
| Fouls | |
| 12 | 10 |
See also[]
External links[]
 Premier League 2024–25
|
| Manchester United F.C. matches - 2024–25 |
| 2024–25 Premier League |
|
Fulham (h) · Liverpool (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (h) · Chelsea (h) · Arsenal (a) · Manchester City (a) · Newcastle United (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (a) · Everton (a) · Arsenal (h) · Manchester City (h) · Chelsea (a) · Aston Villa (h) |
| 2024–25 FA Cup |
| Arsenal (a) · |
| 2024–25 EFL Cup |
| Barnsley (h) · Leicester City (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (a) |
| 2024–25 UEFA Europa League |
| Twente (h) · Porto (a) · Fenerbahçe (a) · PAOK (h) · Bodø/Glimt (h) · Viktoria Plzeň (a) · Rangers (h) · FCSB (a) · Real Sociedad (a) · Real Sociedad (h) · Lyon (a) · Lyon (h) · Athletic Bilbao (a) · Athletic Bilbao (h) · Tottenham Hotspur (n) |
| 2024 FA Community Shield |
| Manchester City (n) |
| Friendly Matches |
| Rosenborg (a) · Rangers (n) · Arsenal (n) · Real Betis (n) · Liverpool (n) · ASEAN All Stars (a) · Hong Kong (a) |
Template:Fulham v Manchester United