Joshua Zirkzee's winning goal demonstrates why Manchester United could take on a new dimension this season.

It appears that how you start is not as important as how you finish. Joshua Zirkzee began his Manchester United career with a memorable ending that bodes well for the rest of it. He began his debut on the bench and finished as the match winner. Old Trafford may have a new goalscoring hero, and if Erik ten Hag's team needed one on their opening night, a newcomer delivered.

The United boss has been accused of signing too many fellow Dutchmen. For a £42 million purchase, it was an outstanding start, a real fantasy debut. Even though he helped Bologna qualify for the Champions League previous season, Zirkzee was not prolific. However, it only took 26 minutes for him to open his United account with a goal that demonstrated his ability to be both a finisher and much more than a penalty-box poacher.

Zirkzee had dropped deep to receive the ball, then sent it wide to Casemiro before accelerating into the box. He extended his left leg to tap in Alejandro Garnacho's cross. Two replacements combined for an opening-day triumph that sent United to the top of the league for the first time under Ten Hag, despite the fact that 18 other teams have yet to play. Perhaps more importantly, it highlighted the United manager's ability to influence the game, which he demonstrated frequently during his first season in England but less frequently after that.

Garnacho shone in his cameo appearance, just as he did in the Community Shield, and if United had drew, he could have started. As it happened, Garnacho could have scored a second in the 94th minute after being set up by Marcus Rashford, but his effort went wide of the unguarded net.

United have adopted a slow approach with Zirkzee: his international obligations in Euro 2024, albeit he scarcely featured, caused him to be late to join his new club, and he was an unused replacement at Wembley last week. However, with the injured Rasmus Hojlund watching from the directors' box, the Dane's absence was noticeable in the opening hour.

United's desperate search for a breakthrough took a hilarious turn when Harry Maguire was penalized for diving, and they provided too little threat with their striker-less formation. Bruno Fernandes had made brave efforts to compensate for the lack of a centre forward, with Bernd Leno twice making fantastic saves to deny him, while Mason Mount, who was also foiled by the goalkeeper, found himself in scoring positions much too rarely. Ten Hag recognized the flaws in his FA Cup final configuration.

But he acted. He should have a stronger team this season - dealing the perennially injured Anthony Martial for Zirkzee surely helps - but instead he relied on his reserve. Ten Hag's four new signings were unveiled to the Old Trafford audience 15 minutes before kick-off, and there was an unwelcome refrain: Leny Yoro was already on crutches, joining their injured squad. Zirkzee and later Matthijs de Ligt made their debuts as substitutes, but Noussair Mazraoui was the sole newcomer to start, and he looked sharp on the ball at right-back, leaving Diogo Dalot with the onerous task of containing Adama Traore on United's left flank.

Zirkzee supplied the only bright spot in the encounter against Fulham.

Zirkzee replaced Mason Mount in the 61st minute of the game.

As Fulham looked more controlled, Andre Onana had to make a superb save to prevent Kenny Tete from opening the scoring from long distance. United used two deep-lying midfielders and two false nines, but Fulham frequently outnumbered them in the centre of the pitch. Emile Smith Rowe, making his debut, played his part, with one direct dribble resulting in a booking for Mount, an encouraging start for the Arsenal signing. As Fulham sought a second victory at Old Trafford in 2024, they demonstrated confidence in possession and aggressive intent. Despite losing possibly the division's most ferocious defensive midfielder, Joao Palhinha, the king of tackles, to Bayern Munich, they performed admirably and felt terrible to have lose.

Nevertheless, United had two great opportunities before Zirkzee was summoned. Casemiro twice set Fernandes up for a score. Leno came off his line twice to save with his legs. The first provided swift redemption for the goalie, whose attempts to play out of the back had failed. Each demonstrated the Brazilian's ability to make defence-splitting passes. He may be a more constructive midfielder than a disruptive one right now.

However, United were more frightening after switching to 4-2-3-1 and then bringing on Scott McTominay. "He wants to play for Fulham," chanted the visiting fans, who were aware that Marco Silva had made an offer for the Scottish player. McTominay, on the other hand, demonstrated his dedication to United by serving as a penalty-box presence, distracting defenders when Zirkzee scored. And for Ten Hag, who had stated that improving results against what he referred to as "lower-class" opponents was critical, winning a game he lost last season was the ideal way to get started.