Manchester United 1-0 Fulham: Post-Palhinha midfield yet to take shape, Smith Rowe debut

“It was the same story again.”

Fulham head coach Marco Silva was left to bemoan another sucker punch at the hands of Manchester United on Friday night as the west Londoners began the new season with a 1-0 defeat. This time, it was new United signing Joshua Zirkzee who delivered the knockout blow, finding the net in the 87th minute.

In four of the last five meetings between these two teams, there has been a match-winner scored after the 85th minute and unfortunately for Silva and Fulham, despite tasting success in February, it tends to be United who come out on top.

This was no opening night thriller, indeed, it bucked a trend. The previous seven curtain raisers had mustered 25 goals, an average of 3.6 per game.

But while this game didn’t set pulses race, there was still plenty to glean.

Here are the key talking points…

The new midfield of a post-Palhinha world is not settled…

With Joao Palhinha out of the picture, the make-up of Marco Silva’s midfield on Friday night had a different feel to it.

Sasa Lukic, a ball-conductor type, was dropped into Palhinha’s old no 6 role while Andreas Pereira partnered Emile Smith Rowe as Silva’s two ‘No 8s’ in front of him. Throw in Alex Iwobi and Adama Traore on either flank, and you had a very fluid and attack-minded midfield.

Fulham fans have become accustomed to watching Pereira as the more advanced of those two more central midfielders but it was notable he had a deeper, ‘second’, midfield role. This is not unfamiliar to him, a point outlined by Silva on Wednesday, who even suggested this was the position Fulham saw him in before Fabio Carvalho’s exit. “To be fair that’s my natural position,” Pereira told The Athletic post-match. “For me it’s even better to play in that position. I felt very comfortable, very good on the pitch. I could help and control the game very well. That’s what I like to do. I’m looking forward to playing more games in that position.”

Pereira’s overall performance reflected that familiarity but he did not offer the bite that can complement Lukic as the Palhinha stand-in. The Serbia international had a quietly effective game, even if he was not minesweeping the Old Trafford turf in the mould of his predecessor. He still won two of three tackles, four of six ground duels and he only misplaced five of his 43 passes.

Fulham also had difficulty with their build up at the end of the first half and while United deserve credit for their pressing, that also speaks to the changes in the Fulham team. When Fulham won here in February, it was Harrison Reed who partnered Lukic in midfield.

The transfer window is still open and Silva was adamant this week that Fulham will recruit a new defensive midfielder. While Palhinha was unique, he did outline that he wants to sign a similar duel-loving profile. “We don’t want a copy,” he said. “We are looking for a similar profile if we can, but it’s not easy. If it was, they would be here.”

For now, it does feel like the shape of Fulham’s post-Palhinha midfield is not yet settled.

Fulham will need to improve their final third decision making

Fulham came under pressure at the end of the first half but after the interval, they managed to forge chances and regain a foothold.

But two crucial moments stood out.

The first saw a two vs one situation where Andreas Pereira and Alexi Iwobi challenged Harry Maguire…

And the second saw Adama Traore surge up the field, with support from four team-mates.

Despite the numerical advantage in both attacks, not only did Fulham not score, they did not muster a shot.

“I was little bit unlucky there,” said Pereira. “I thought Maguire was going turn my way, but he stepped back, so he defended it well. After that we had the occasion when I crossed the ball (and it was cleared by Lisandro Martinez). These type of details that decide big games like that.”

Those two attacks were symptomatic of Fulham’s struggles around the box. Fulham created only 0.17 expected goals from open play, with most of their chances coming from Pereira’s set plays. Fulham completed one successful cross in open play (out of 10).

The caveat is Fulham were playing away against Manchester United but they set high standards, and that lack of incisiveness will need to improve as the season goes on.

How did Emile Smith Rowe fare on debut?

One man who can rectify those decision-making problems is Emile Smith Rowe. Fulham’s record signing made his first start for the club as part of the team’s new look midfield.

He had a quiet game. There were a few neat interchanges with Alex Iwobi, who was also not able to greatly impact the contest. Their best moment came early in the first half where both played their part in a sweeping move that cut through United’s midfield, only to breakdown outside the box (this happened a fair bit, see above).

Smith Rowe did spend time in deeper positions, seeking to get on the ball and start moves from the back. This is fine but longer term Fulham will want him to increase his touch numbers around the box. It was notable that Tom Cairney had a greater proportion of his touches in more dangerous positions, albeit he entered the game with United’s press not as strong as the first period.

Silva reiterated post-match that it will take time for Smith Rowe to get up to speed. “He’s still not in his best shape, we need to give him minutes,” he said. “We know the quality he is going to give us.”

On Wednesday, Silva outlined that he only featured in one behind-closed-doors pre-season fixture for Arsenal ahead of his transfer, and then did not train with this team-mates “in the eight days” preceding the conclusion of his £34m deal.

The advanced midfield role at Fulham is a particularly demanding one, particularly off the ball and that is where Pereira has received a lot of praise from Silva. That too will take time to adjust, although we may also Smith Rowe from the left in the weeks to come.

“He hasn’t played in this position with us yet but he can come from the left too,” Silva said on Wednesday. “He’s going to give the creativity that we look for when we are playing against compact teams. He can make the difference. He needs time to adapt to the way we want to play.”

What next for Fulham?

Saturday, August 24: Leicester City (H), Premier League, 3pm BST, 10am ET.

Fulham’s first home fixture of the new season sees newly promoted Leicester City visit Craven Cottage. The fixture will see the return of Bobby De Cordova-Reid, who left Fulham on a free transfer this summer.

(Top photo: Darren Staples/AFP via Getty Images)