It was certainly not the convincing and commanding display Erik ten Hag might have desired to kickstart what is hoped will be a new Manchester United era, but a winning goal from the debutant striker Joshua Zirkzee and a clean sheet against Fulham brought the platform he craves.
Ten Hag knows it was a similar story last season when they bungled their way past Wolves to start a campaign that ended with an eighth-placed finish. Results are what matter but performances will need to improve once the team settles. Zirkzee arrived from Bologna in the summer and he has built expectations early and showed a clinical nature that has been lacking at Old Trafford for a number of years. His jabbed effort might have looked like a stroke of luck but it was precision finishing from the Dutch international who wears the No 11 shirt, a garment somewhat tainted since the retirement of Ryan Giggs a decade ago.
