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Erik ten Hag has insisted that Manchester United need to be more clinical and finish their chances, following the club’s 1-0 win against Fulham.
Joshua Zirkzee’s late goal for United sealed the victory for the side in their opening Premier League match of the 2024/25 season.
Throughout the match and especially during the opening 45 minutes, United had plenty of chances to find the back of the net but the players let themselves down with some poor finishing.
Bruno Fernandes had two golden opportunities but in both instances, the Portugal international was thwarted by Bernd Leno. Mason Mount also had a sight of goal when Marcus Rashford set him up but the England midfielder failed to hit the target.
In the dying embers of proceedings, Alejandro Garnacho had an open goal at his mercy but the Carrington academy graduate also missed, to the astonishment of supporters.
Ten Hag spoke to Sky Sports after the final whistle and said that he was happy with most aspects of the team’s display vs. the Cottagers except the finishing.
The Dutchman remarked, “Against Fulham, it’s always a difficult game but we pressed very well and we kept them under pressure. We created a lot of chances and should have scored earlier. That’s my only criticism of the team that we needed to kill.”
On the changes he made, Ten Hag said, “It showed that subs are very important. It’s great in the first game to bring on a sub and he ends up winning us the game. It’s good for the team process and the spirit of the group. It shows how important subs are and that they need to be ready.”
“We know how important it is to keep clean sheets. Two seasons ago we kept the most number of clean sheets in the Premier League.”
The United boss added about his side’s defending, “When we have our consistent back four, we will defend properly with a high line and the midfield and wingers can get forward. Without a consistent back four, there is no pattern and routines and that’s when gaps appear.”
Zirkzee was not the only debutant at Old Trafford tonight. Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt also made their bow for the Red Devils after joining from Bayern Munich earlier this week.
Mazraoui was included in the starting XI but De Ligt came on from the bench.
Reacting to Mazraoui’s brilliant performance, Ten Hag told Sky, “I know Noussair Mazraoui like this. He is a great defender, but he is very composed on the ball – he is not in full condition, when he gets 100% fitness he can do much more. He has to build his fitness.”
Ten Hag revealed that another thing he was really happy with was that no injuries were recorded.
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