A good night for our new boys

The Netherlands international, introduced on the hour for Mason Mount, pounced to score on his first Reds appearance, to settle an encounter which had threatened to end in frustration for Erik ten Hag's side.

Instead, it will go down as an evening to remember in M16, with Zirkzee joined by this week's arrivals -  Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui - in making winning starts to life at the Theatre of Dreams.

All three had been introduced to the M16 crowd 15 minutes before kick-off, alongside Leny Yoro, although the Frenchman will have to wait a little longer for his moment, due to injury.

The quartet posed for photos, before Mazraoui sprinted off down the tunnel - the Morocco international had been selected in the starting XI, lining up at right-back.

Our no.3 was forced to show his defensive qualities early on, timing his slide challenge perfectly on the edge of the area to nick the ball away from an onrushing Alex Iwobi.

The Nigerian scored the winning goal in this fixture last season, but he found little joy in his 80-minute battle with Mazraoui.

Noussair was on hand to snuff out another Fulham chance, after a Martinez slip, in the second half, and also offered glimpses of his ability in attack, often moving inside to offer a passing option in possession.

He was afforded an early dart by Erik ten Hag 10 minutes before the end, when De Ligt entered the fray.

The tall Dutchman's first involvement was a crashing, towering header in the middle of the park.

De Ligt has a real physical presence and that was evident to see in the closing seconds, as he and Jonny Evans battled to keep Fulham at bay.

That was after Zirkzee's decisive involvement.

It took Joshua a little while to make his mark on the fixture, save for some neat flicks and tricks in the middle of the park, as it looked like we'd have to wait at least a fortnight to cheer an Old Trafford goal.

But his toepoked conversion of Alejandro Garnacho's first-time cross - and subsequent celebration in front of the Stretford End - helped released a summer of pent-up limbs, capping a good first day at the office for Ten Hag's additions.

“Brilliant for Joshua, to score in your first game a goal, a winning goal. A striker has to score goals and when you get them in the first game, that is fantastic,” Ten Hag told French broadcaster Canal+.

“Nous started, a very good performance. He was not 100 per cent fit and didn’t play a full game in the pre-season, but he got to 70-75 minutes which is good and I think he had a very decent performance.

“De Ligt as well came in, great performer - as I know him - very confident, high belief, very strong. He was leading the back line and winning his duels. So we are very pleased with all the performances from the team.”