Joshua Zirkzee has marked his debut for Manchester United, coming off the bench to score an 87th-minute goal for a 1-0 victory over Fulham on the opening night of the English Premier League season.
The Netherlands striker poked out his left foot to guide home a cross by fellow substitute Alejandro Garnacho at Old Trafford.
Zirkzee, who joined from Bologna for a reported US$47 million (NZ$77.6m) last month, was one of three offseason signings to make their first appearances for United, along with defenders Noussair Mazraoui and Matthijs de Ligt.
"To win here in my first home game and to grab a goal, it couldn’t be better," said Zirkzee.
Zirkzee, Mazraoui and De Ligt have arrived as part of a US$180 million (NZ$297m) spending spree by the record 20-time champions, a club under new leadership and looking to return to its former glories.
Erik ten Hag was retained as manager, despite guiding United to an eighth-place finish last season, and this was a solid, if unspectacular, start to the campaign by his team.
With Zirkzee not fully match sharp and Rasmus Hojlund injured, United started the season without an out-and-out striker on the field and it showed, with midfielders Bruno Fernandes and Mason Mount wasting the best opportunities in a game that was petering out, before Zirkzee’s late intervention.
Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno came to his team’s rescue, saving twice at the feet of Fernandes in one-on-one chances, then getting down sharply to deny Mount from close range in the second half.
Leno had no chance with Zirkzee’s shot in front of the Stretford End and Garnacho squandered a great chance to make it 2-0 in stoppage time, when he dragged a shot wide in front of an empty goal.
Mazraoui played 81 minutes at right-back, before being replaced by De Ligt, three days after they both joined from Bayern Munich. Zirkzee entered in the 61st.
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