Manchester United took on Fulham on Friday night to open the Premier League season at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils started with Andre Onana in goal and Harry Maguire and Lisandro Martinez making up the centre half partnership, with new signing Matthijs de Ligt on the bench.
Noussair Mazraoui madde his debut under the Old Trafford floodlights at right back, while Diogo Dalot started on the left.
United need to play with a number nine
The Red Devils finally addressed their lack of striking back up but an unfortunate injury to Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua’s Zirkzee’s lack of pre-season meant that it was left up to Bruno Fernandes to play up front.
The Portugal international did uncharacteristically spurn a couple of golden chances when put one-on-one with the keeper but while the team kept possession well, they looked rather timid in higher areas.
The lack of focal point up front was clear as the home side regularly found themselves in good attacking positions but neither Mount or Fernandes were to be seen.
To be fair to the captain, he did make much more of an effort to arrive into the box but he was regularly isolated and cut a frustrated figure as he had no real options to pass to.
Wastefulness continued in the second half as Mount failed to convert another gilt-edged chance.
United fans will be hopeful that Hojlund and Zirkzee can stay fit and complement one another in a long gruelling season and give the team a reference point up front they so desperately need.
Casemiro’s renaissance continues
The Brazilian veteran struggled immensely last year but he has come back in a better, leaner state this season.
Despite starting in his usual spot in the double pivot, he regularly found himself in attacking positions.
He had three headers from set plays, with one from a corner bouncing into the ground and hitting the side netting.
He also had a couple of shots on goal from outside the box that were much less dangerous.
Casemiro showed off his passing range, which has not always been so visible in a United shirt, when he followed up a couple of nice balls versus Manchester City with a delightful ball for Bruno Fernandes that the Portuguese should have finished.
The former Real Madrid man continued to impress in the second half as he dealt with a couple of corners well and cut out a dangerous looking attack with a trademark crunching tackle. He also showed his experience as he went down under pressure from a Fulham player with only two minutes to play in additional time and won a free kick that ate away crucial seconds so his side could hold on to their lead.
With the Old Trafford side still pushing for a defensive midfielder, most likely Manuel Ugarte, Casemiro may find himself fall down the pecking order but if he can contribute like he did tonight, there is still very much a role for him in Ten Hag’s team.
Solid Noussair Mazraoui debut
Zirkzee will earn most of the headlines due to his match winning heroics but another debutant quietly performed under challenging circumstances.
Mazraoui only arrived in the country at the beginning of the week but he was thrown into the melting pot right away due to United’s lack of full back cover.
Most of the talk about the Moroccan after his signing was about the attacking threat he would bring to the side, and while he did take up some nice positions offensively, it was his defensive display that caught the eye.
He made a great block within the first 15 minutes that stopped a certain goal and he was once again in the thick of the action as he cut out an Alex Iwobi cross early in the second half.
The 26 year old came off after 80 minutes but while he will hope to be more involved as an attacking threat in games to come, he will be mightily pleased with how his first night’s work in English football went.
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