Fans got to enjoy the first Premier League game of the season as Manchester United beat Fulham 1-0 at Old Trafford on Friday, August 16. While the Red Devils would be pleased to have bagged all three points, Mason Mount will not be too happy with his performance. After the game, fans took to social media to voice their opinion on the England international.
Mount had a big chance to open the scoring in the 53rd minute for Manchester United. The ball fell kindly for him after a dashing run into the area from Marcus Rashford. However, the former Chelsea midfielder could only place the ball at goalkeeper Bernd Leno, who thwarted his effort.
That was, by far, the most notable aspect of his performance on the night. Mount played 61 minutes but made only 11 accurate passes. His dribbling was poor, failing to get past any player, while he was dispossessed three times.
Had the big chance he squandered gone in, his generally drab performance might have been forgotten or forgiven by the fans. However, they took to social media to share their unhappiness with the quality of his appearance at Old Trafford, with comments like:
"Mason Mount should not be starting games for United, he’s a very basic footballer. Slow and weak," one fan complained.
"Mount needs to be binned also. Rashford just doesnt have it anymore. Garnacho and Amad are HUNGRY. Sancho and Anthony need binning and we need a few wingers," another fan slammed.
"Many negatives to take from that but 3 points in the bag 🙌🏻 Need to start Zirkzee & leave Mount nowhere near that starting 11," a fan added.
"It's fair to say Mount is a worse player than most Sunday league players," another trolled.
"Mount should never start again please," a fan warned.
"Mount is horrendous," said another.
"Definitely motm. Yeah I just dont get the Mount transfer at all," a fan noted.
Others added:
Manchester United 1-0 Fulham: Match report
Manchester United were easily the better side in their 1-0 win over Fulham. The Red Devils should have improved on the scoreline, based on their 2.51 expected goals. However, they missed four big chances to score on the night.
The hosts did not dominate possession thoroughly (55 percent), but their time on the ball was well spent, as they took 14 shots on goal. However, the clinical edge was not there as only five were on target. Fulham were recognizably worse, as the Cottagers had only two shots on target out of 10.
Manchester United also had the lion's share of the passing, making 402 in total (85 percent accurate). Fulham, on the other hand, had just 302 passes in total, with 80 percent accuracy.
The lone goal came from new signing Joshua Zirkzee, who scored on his debut in the 87th minute.
*Stats are from Fotmob.*