Fulham’s head coach, Marco Silva, attributed his team’s 1-0 loss to Manchester United in their Premier League opener on Thursday, August 16, to a lack of emotional control during crucial moments of the match. Despite a strong performance, particularly in the first half, Fulham fell to a late goal by Manchester United’s new signing, Joshua Zirkzee, in the 87th minute at Old Trafford.
Silva expressed his belief that Fulham deserved a better outcome, highlighting the improvements his team made after halftime. However, he lamented their inability to maintain composure when the game became more open, leading to United’s winning goal.
“We started well and had good counter-attacks to score. We adjusted things at half-time and the second half was much better,” Silva said. “The main thing for us was to keep the emotional control. When the game becomes open, we should have kept the balance and stayed compact. But in those moments, we lost emotional control, and that allowed them to score.”
Meanwhile, Manchester United’s manager, Erik ten Hag, explained Jadon Sancho’s absence from the squad, citing an ear infection that left the player unfit for the match. Ten Hag stressed the importance of squad depth for the long season ahead, noting that while Sancho’s illness kept him out of this game, maintaining a full and healthy roster will be critical moving forward.