Good first impressions at Manchester United, David Raya’s magic moment and more utter chaos at Chelsea

It was very much a case of job done for Manchester United on Friday night as they edged past Fulham. United did not secure the convincing win that many desired but three points is a good base from which to start the campaign. Erik ten Hag will be further boosted by the performances of his three debutants. Noussair Mazraoui was the only one to start, playing at right-back where he provided energy and looked composed on the ball. Matthijs de Ligt came on with Jonny Evans as the defence was reshuffled late on to help preserve United’s clean sheet, with Fulham stretching their tired hosts. De Ligt worked diligently but was upstaged by his compatriot, Joshua Zirkzee, who provided the 87th-minute winner with a cunning finish as United finally got the better of Bernd Leno. Each recruit offered an indication of what they will bring to United and, like the team, the new arrivals have something to build on. Will Unwin

Match report: Manchester United 1-0 Fulham

Match report: Arsenal 2-0 Wolves

Match report: Chelsea 0-2 Man City

Match report: West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa

Match report: Ipswich 0-2 Liverpool

Match report: Everton 0-3 Brighton

• Greenwood scored twice in Marseille’s 5-1 win over Brest
• Forward’s arrival in summer drew backlash from fans

The Marseille head coach, Roberto De Zerbi, has said he hopes Mason Greenwood’s debut goals on Saturday will “calm the controversies” around the striker.

Greenwood left Manchester United this summer, signing a five-year contract with the Ligue 1 side after the clubs agreed a £26.6m fee. The forward had not played for United since being suspended in January 2022 and spent 2023-24 on loan at the Spanish side Getafe.

• Bruno Fernandes twice denied in one on ones
• United had to rely on 87th-minute Zirkzee goal

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United cannot continue to waste chances, having missed a number of good opportunities before Joshua Zirkzee came off the bench to score the winner against Fulham with three minutes to go.

Bruno Fernandes was repelled twice by Bernd Leno in one-on-one situations before the break and Mason Mount suffered a similar fate in the second half.

New signing made an instant impact to rescue what threatened to be another false start for Erik ten Hag’s side

It wasn’t brilliant from Manchester United, but it was a win, it was better than the 1-0 win over Wolves with which they started last season and, perhaps most significantly, it was a victory achieved with a late goal from one of their new signings. And those are the ingredients for optimism.

It’s true that if Joshua Zirkzee had not steered in an Alejandro Garnacho cross with three minutes remaining, the mood would have been very different. But then the whole tenor of the game would have been very different had Bruno Fernandes converted either of his one-on-one opportunities against Bernd Leno before half-time. Games, seasons and careers are decided by fine margins and, on this occasion, they went for United.

It was certainly not the convincing and commanding display Erik ten Hag might have desired to kickstart what is hoped will be a new Manchester United era, but a winning goal from the debutant striker Joshua Zirkzee and a clean sheet against Fulham brought the platform he craves.

Ten Hag knows it was a similar story last season when they bungled their way past Wolves to start a campaign that ended with an eighth-placed finish. Results are what matter but performances will need to improve once the team settles. Zirkzee arrived from Bologna in the summer and he has built expectations early and showed a clinical nature that has been lacking at Old Trafford for a number of years. His jabbed effort might have looked like a stroke of luck but it was precision finishing from the Dutch international who wears the No 11 shirt, a garment somewhat tainted since the retirement of Ryan Giggs a decade ago.

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Here we go, then, as Fulham get the first match of the new Premier League season underway. But not before the knee of justice is taken. Andreas Pereira with 2024-25’s first kick of the ball. “I don’t have any Man U or Fulham defenders in my FPL team, so I’m confident of a 6-6 draw,” predicts Chloë Vaughan.

The teams are out! Expectation crackles around a packed Old Trafford as United and Fulham take to the field in their fetching new Adidas strips. Three bars ahoy! Trefoils to come. The hosts in red, the visitors in white, a classic look that acts as balm for tired eyes. There’s been plenty of noise ever since United’s quartet of new signings – the aforementioned Mazraoui, De Ligt and Zirkzee, plus the crocked Leny Yoro – were announced to the crowd a few minutes ago. The 2024-25 Premier League season kicks off in two or three of your Lancastrian minutes!

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Are you ready for the new Premier League season? Because Manchester United aren’t! In a mature, realistic observation that has already been disingenuously twisted by shameless emoji-wielding wrong’uns, Erik ten Hag said his team may not come roaring out of the blocks when they play Fulham tonight. “We had the USA tour squad, then we added the players who did the Euros and Copa América, and now new signings,” he said. “Now we have to make a team from it. That team is not ready, but the league starts – and there are more managers to deal with this problem. We can’t run away from it, so we have to deal with it.”

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New managers, new players, new hopes and new dreams as clubs ready themselves for another marathon season

Erik ten Hag is one step closer to playing an all-former-Ajax back five after the arrivals of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui. With André Onana and Lisandro Martínez already in position, the head coach’s influence in transfer activity is clear. What this means, however, is that Ten Hag will not be left with many excuses if the defence is not up to scratch. The vast majority of new players arriving in the Premier League need time to settle, but how much can they be afforded given the need to get off to a good start? They should all know how the manager wants them to operate, having worked with him before, but whether they can function as a unit remains to be seen. Fulham won at Old Trafford last season and are capable of doing it again, which would put United on the back foot from the start. With a difficult trip to Brighton followed by Liverpool at home, United’s new defence must harmonise quickly, otherwise the pressure will be on. Will Unwin

Manchester United v Fulham, Friday 8pm (all times BST)

Ipswich Town v Liverpool, Saturday 12.30pm

Arsenal v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Everton v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

• Manager says his trophy haul second only to City
• ‘We want to win every competition,’ Dutchman adds

Erik ten Hag says Manchester United’s ambition is to win the Premier League, claiming they have only been second best to rivals Manchester City since his arrival in 2022.

The Dutchman has led the club to Carabao Cup and FA Cup triumphs in his first two seasons but they finished a disappointing eighth in May.

• Captain pens fresh contract which ties him until 2027
• ‘Everyone knows the passion I have for United’

The Manchester United captain, Bruno Fernandes, has signed a new contract until June 2027, with the option of a further year.

Fernandes, who joined from Sporting in 2020, had two years remaining on his current deal but has penned an extension that will put his wages in line with the club’s highest earners.

Former Manchester United midfielder on why teenager reminds him of Zidane, the buzz of working at Salford and his pending Old Trafford return

“I’m not sure you can train it – I think it’s just in you,” Paul Scholes says of the fundamental qualities that made him the most decorated English footballer: calmness and composure. Those asking after England’s Euro 2024 final defeat last month where the country’s Rodri, Modric or Kroos was, could just as easily have wondered: “Where is our Scholes?”

Well, the midfield past master is here, at a special free school in Stretford, Greater Manchester – like the one his son, Aiden, attended – learning how the funds from a charity match will help. He’s wiping a mild sweat off his brow after playing football with a class of kids. And here he is, eulogising Kobbie Mainoo, Manchester United’s young midfielder who many believe could fulfil that role the triumphant Spaniards call pivote.

From a pair of Spurs youngsters to Brighton’s new Gambian acquisition, 10 players who could become household names

By Sam Hammond for WhoScored

The Swedish teenager Lucas Bergvall agreed an £8.5m move from Djurgården in February, before officially joining Tottenham this summer. Bergvall is an all-action midfielder, well suited to a No 8 role in Ange Postecoglou’s fluid Tottenham system. The 18-year-old, already capped once for his national side, is more than capable of winning back possession in the middle of the park, before playing the right pass for a further advanced teammate. Bergvall has impressed in pre-season and provided a smart assist for compatriot Dejan Kulusevski against Bayern Munich last weekend.

• Bayern Munich defensive duo arrive in deal worth £60m
• Luke Shaw sidelined for start of season with calf injury

Manchester United have laid down an early marker for the season by completing the £60m double transfer deal of Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich.

The United manager, Erik ten Hag, had made it plain to the board that he needed to reinforce his squad after last season was blighted by injuries. And the coach has had his wishes granted with De Ligt and Mazraoui swelling his options.

• Defender, 26, ends five-year stay at Old Trafford
• I’m excited for what’s coming,’ says Wan-Bissaka

West Ham have signed Aaron Wan-Bissaka from Manchester United for a reported transfer fee of £15m. The 26-year-old defender, who made 190 appearances over five seasons for United after joining from Crystal Palace for £50m in 2019, has agreed a seven-year contract with the Hammers.

“It’s an amazing feeling to be back in London and I’m excited for what’s coming,” he said. “I was born here and I know the ins and outs of London, which plays a big part in my life, so to be back playing in this city means a lot to me.”

Erik ten Hag’s future was in the balance mere months ago after their lowest-ever finish but it is now full throttle ahead with the backing of Sir Jim Ratcliffe

Guardian writers’ predicted position: 5th (NB: this is not necessarily Jamie Jackson’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)

Last season’s position: 8th

• Bayern Munich pair will cost £51m
• Wan-Bissaka on his way out in £15m deal

Manchester United are expected to complete the signings of the defenders Matthijs de Ligt and ­Noussair Mazraoui from Bayern Munich for a combined fee of more than £50m, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka set to join West Ham. The deals for De Ligt and Mazraoui – who played under Erik ten Hag when he was at Ajax – were agreed over the weekend.

Both players were pictured on their way to United’s Carrington training ground on Monday.

Fans have their say on key players, wonderkids and weak links – and make predictions for the season ahead

• Part one: Arsenal to Ipswich

My first target is at least 12 points so Derby remain the worst team in history. In fact, I remember doing this feature a decade ago when we were last promoted. Then, I quipped that Leicester were here to stay … this time I think it might be a final farewell tour.

Chris Whiting clippings.me/chriswhiting; @ChrisRWhiting

Steph Jones

Lloyd Scragg ninetythreetwenty.com; @lloyd_scragg

• Manchester United striker missed two good openings
• Guardiola impressed with young midfielders

Erik ten Hag has backed Marcus Rashford to get back to his best after he failed to convert pivotal chances in Manchester United’s Community Shield defeat by Manchester City. United were left to rue the missed opportunities as City won on penalties after Alejandro Garnacho and Bernardo Silva traded late goals in normal time.

The England striker had two opportunities to give United the lead but failed to convert from close range under limited pressure from defenders. Rashford scored only seven times in 33 Premier League appearances last season and was not called up to England’s Euro 2024 squad because of his overall poor form.

Community Shield told us little about the champions but Erik ten Hag may have solved his side’s midfield problem

Unfurl the bunting! Prepare the open-topped bus! Paint the city blue! Or perhaps not. This time it was City who won the second Manchester derby at Wembley inside 80 days and, while the Community Shield hardly competes with May’s FA Cup final, it does means that a potential quintuple is on. For a team as successful as Manchester City, every new goal is worth highlighting.

City didn’t seem overjoyed at the final whistle, United didn’t seem devastated. Why would they? Having lost in each of the last three Community Shields, City more than anybody know how little bearing the curtain-raiser has on the show to come. Only one of the past 13 Community Shield winners have gone on to win the title; were City to do so this season they would become only the ninth side to claim both the Community Shield and Premier League in the same season. “It is what it is,” as a resolutely sober Rúben Dias sagely confirmed. “Another trophy.”

By the end of August few will remember much about the Community Shield but Manchester City enjoyed winning this curtain-raiser. They lost the FA Cup final to United in May but fought back late on and kept calmest from the spot.

Two substitutes – Alejandro Garnacho and Bernardo Silva – traded late goals in a forgettable encounter but it was fitting that a shootout was the deciding metric. Sudden death was required with City taking the glory when Jonny Evans meekly chipped over before Manuel Akanji converted. City lost a shootout against Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals in April, so success on Saturday will be a positive experience, which is what friendlies are for.