Manchester United manager Erik Ten Hag admitted his team can not afford to keep wasting so many chances despite registering a 1-0 win against Fulham in their opening match of the season at Old Trafford on Friday. Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning goal for the Red Devils but it came in the 87th minute of the game.

However, the home team had a plethora of chances but they could not grab their opportunities. The hosts took a total of 14 shots, five of which were on target.

The Dutchman admitted that they could not take their chances in the preseason and also against Manchester City in the FA Community Shield loss. Ten Hag added they should kill the games in the box.

“I think one area we have to get right is how to kill (games) in the box,” Ten Hag told reporters. “We saw it in the friendlies and last week against (Manchester) City (in United’s Community Shield loss).

“We created enough chances and should not to have wait for a late winner. We have to be more composed and kill teams.

“Maybe it is because it is the start of the season, players have to come into full speed. We have enough players with scoring abilities.”

Zirkzee came off the bench to convert Alejandro Garnacho’s cross and Ten Hag showered praise on the 23-year-old youngster.

“He (Zirkzee) had an injury at the end of his career at Bologna and he was not selected for the European Championship (for the Netherlands).

“We have to build up some deficits. He has some attributes we didn’t have and straight away he showed it.

“He is very good in his linking up combinations. We have some very good ball-playing combinations in the team. But he has to arrive in the box to score goals and he did that tonight. He is a Man United player and it is very good for a striker coming in and scoring his first goal.”

Manchester United will next take on Brighton on Saturday at the Falmer Stadium.