New season, new faces, new hopes, new dreams. But for Fulham, the same sense of dejection after facing Manchester United.
They looked to have turned over a new leaf against the Red Devils in February, when Alex Iwobi’s last-gasp winner stunned Old Trafford to brought an end to a long run of one-goal defeats in which United had struck late against them.
Back to type now though. What looked like finishing as a hard-fought and much valued goalless draw ended up as a 1-0 defeat as Joshua Zirkzee flicked home the game’s only goal on 87 minutes to cap off a dream debut off the bench but break Fulham hearts.
Conceding so late is always a tough pill to swallow but felt particularly cruel given how well Fulham had performed here. Their braveness on the ball was there for all to see.
Adama Traore had set up Iwobi’s late winner in February but played a starting and starring role, darting past Diogo Dalot on the outside in the first half and giving the whole United defence a torrid time of it all afternoon.
His willingness to run at — and, frankly, straight past — United was met by hunger and desire once he had lost it, too. At one point the ball was pinched from him by Kobbie Mainoo. Rather than cow away, he sprinted to catch up with the England international and swiftly nicked it back off him.
Marco Silva is expecting big things from Traore this season, after a first campaign to bed in at the new club last term which was disrupted by a hamstring injury in September that kept him out for months. Traore’s unusually bulky frame and ludicrous pace are enough to strike fear into any defence. They did so here and will do throughout the season, should he stay fit.
It will have pleased Fulham supporters to see £34million summer signing Emile Smith Rowe dropping deep to collect the ball from centre-backs Calvin Bassey and Issa Diop. He effectively played for Fulham the role Bruno Fernandes does for United: key man, always wanting the ball, invariably getting it.
Silva hopes to restore Smith Rowe to his “best level”. Regular Premier League game time will surely be enough to do so. He has already shown in pre-season that he is one of Fulham's key players. Another mature performance followed here.
Antonee Robinson’s lung-busting runs down the left and Andreas Pereira’s ball-carrying from midfield grew in prominence as this contest wore on, but good though Sasa Lukic was in breaking up play, United’s threat also grew, and their star power from the bench will be matched by few teams this season.
It told, with Zirkzee’s late goal showcasing not only the quality of the player but how much Fulham had tired. They couldn’t get near him, nor Garnacho for the cross, and again left a fixture against United feeling they deserved a whole lot more than zero points.
A frustrating start for Silva’s men, but the performances of Traore and Smith Rowe boded well for how this season could unfold.
