Erik ten Hag wants his Manchester United squad to use their Community Shield loss to Manchester City as motivation against Fulham in Friday's Premier League opener.
Ten Hag's team almost started the season with another trophy, but fell to defeat in a penalty shootout at Wembley after Alejandro Garnacho's strike had given them the lead.
Bernardo Silva levelled late on for Pep Guardiola's City side, with Manuel Akanji scoring the decisive spot-kick after Jonny Evans' miss from 12 yards.
“We are disappointed," Ten Hag said. "We have to feel the pain and everyone feels the pain. That's a good signal, but I also see some positives.
“We performed well, we could've won that game, we were twice leading in the game and in the penalties, but we lost, and we're disappointed. But we take the positives.”
The Red Devils have since bolstered their defensive ranks, with Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui joining from Bayern Munich, but they will be without the injured Luke Shaw.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that the full-back will miss the start of the season after sustaining a calf injury in pre-season training.
For Fulham, they will be hopeful of maintaining their impressive opening day form, having lost their first Premier League match in just two of their last nine seasons (four wins, three draws).
Marco Silva's tenure has featured a promotion and two comfortable campaigns in the top flight, and they have regenerated their squad in the transfer window after losing star midfielder Joao Palhinha to Bayern Munich.
Emile Smith Rowe and Ryan Sessegnon's arrivals have improved their forward line, and they will be confident of starting the season strongly at Old Trafford.
The Cottagers prevailed on their last visit to M16, winning 2-1 back in February, but captain Tom Cairney acknowledged a stern challenge awaits them.
“For the quality of their squad, you could argue they’ve been a little bit hit and miss,” Cairney said. “It was amazing for them to win the trophy at the end of last season.
“If they’re on, if they’re firing on all cylinders, it’s a tough night for us.
"They’ve got quality throughout the squad, Champions League winners, but Marco will definitely gear us up to go there and try and win."
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Manchester United - Bruno Fernandes
In the absence of Rasmus Hojlund, United will look towards the attacking talents of captain Bruno Fernandes to provide that creative spark in the final third.
Fernandes finished as the Red Devils' joint-top scorer in the Premier League last season with 10 goals in 35 appearances, while also creating more chances in the division than any other player (114).
The United captain has scored four times against Fulham in his seven games against them in all competitions, only scoring more against Everton (five), Leeds (six) and Aston Villa (seven) of the English sides he has faced.
Fulham - Emile Smith Rowe
All eyes will be on Fulham new boy Smith Rowe following his £34million switch from Arsenal, with the possibility of joining a select few players should he find the target.
Smith Rowe scored on his only Premier League start against United at Old Trafford in a 3-2 defeat during his time with Arsenal in December 2021.
Only Darren Bent (Fulham and Tottenham), Emmanuel Adebayor (Arsenal and Tottenham) and Frank Lampard (Chelsea and West Ham) have scored away against the Red Devils with two different London clubs in the Premier League.
MATCH PREDICTION: MANCHESTER UNITED WIN
United have lost just four of their 34 Premier League meetings with Fulham (24 wins, six draws), but one of those came in their most recent encounter back in February.
Ten Hag's side have struggled versus sides from the capital, losing their last three home games against teams from London. Should Fulham emerge victorious, it will be the first time since a run of five between December 1985 and September 1986 that United have lost four consecutive games against London clubs.
But the Red Devils start their campaign in front of their home supporters for the eighth season in a row, becoming the first in Premier League history to start a season with a home game in eight seasons consecutively.
Fulham, however, will be out to cause an upset. They won two of their final three Premier League away games last season (one draw), as many as they managed in their first 16 on the road in 2023-24 (five draws, nine defeats).
Following their victory in Manchester in February, Fulham are looking to win on consecutive league visits to United for the first time. They’ve faced them at Old Trafford in their opening league match three times previously, losing all three (0-1 in 1950-51, 2-3 in 2001-02 and 1-5 in 2006-07).
And there is no better man to lead them out than Silva, who is unbeaten in his last nine opening day matches (three wins, six draws), with his last such defeat coming in the Primeira Liga with Estoril in 2012-13 (1-2 v Olhanense).
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Manchester United - 58.5%
Draw - 20.9%
Fulham - 20.6%
Venezuela 1-1 Argentina: Rondon equaliser thwarts world champions on Messi return
Argentina dropped points in a second successive CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, as Venezuela held them to a 1-1 draw in Maturin.
The spoils were shared at Estadio Monumental de Maturin, where Salomon Rondon's second-half header cancelled out Nicolas Otamendi's earlier effort.
After heavy rain delayed kick-off, Argentina took the lead in the 13th minute.
Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo failed to properly clear the returning Lionel Messi's free-kick, and Otamendi reacted quickest to poke home from 12 yards out.
The hosts went close to levelling either side of the break. German Pezzella cleared off the line from Rondon, while Geronimo Rulli - deputising for the suspended Emiliano Martinez - kept out Yangel Herrera's powerful header.
However, Venezuela did grab their equaliser in the 65th minute - and subsequently a point - when Rondon rose at the near post to power home from Yeferson Soteldo's cross.
Messi returned to the international scene for the first time since limping off in tears during the Copa America final.
But the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner could not help Argentina get back to winning ways, while he conceded possession the joint-most times (19) by any visiting player.
The conditions certainly affected the flow of the game, and was more to the suiting of Venezuela. Although they had just 40.1% of possession, the hosts outshot their opponents 16-8.
However, they have now failed to win their last five CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers; their longest streak since going six without victory between June and October 2021.
Israel 1-4 France: Rampant Bleus clinch back-to-back Nations League wins
France made it back-to-back wins in the Nations League, with Christopher Nkunku and Bradley Barcola among the scorers as they thrashed Israel 4-1 in Hungary.
Playing at a neutral venue in Budapest's Bozsik Arena, France flew out of the traps as Israel goalkeeper Omri Glazer let Eduardo Camavinga's strike squirm past him in the sixth minute.
Israel did draw level midway through the first half as Omri Gandelman headed Oscar Gloukh's cross home, but they were on terms for less than five minutes as Chelsea forward Nkunku flicked the ball through Ilay Feingold's legs before slotting a low finish into the far corner.
Randal Kolo Muani twice went close to extending France's lead before Matteo Guendouzi gave them breathing space in the 87th minute, rolling a finish beyond Glazer and into the bottom corner.
Didier Deschamps' men added further gloss to the scoreline two minutes later, Guendouzi finding a similar position, but this time opting to pick out Barcola for a curled finish.
The result sees France move onto six points in Group A2, one adrift of Italy – who beat them on matchday one. They face Belgium next time out on Monday.
Data Debrief: New-look Bleus sparkle
With Kylian Mbappe absent due to a niggling injury and Antoine Griezmann retiring from international football, Deschamps fielded a new-look frontline of Nkunku, Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Michael Olise.
Recording 33 touches in the area to Israel's five, and 15 shots to their opponents' one, France certainly impressed.
Kolo Muani was a particular bright spark despite not getting on the scoresheet, with his four chances created being at least twice as many as any other player (Theo Hernandez laid on two).
Haaland becomes Norway's record scorer with Slovenia brace
Erling Haaland became Norway's all-time leading scorer with a brace in their 3-0 victory over Slovenia.
The Manchester City striker was captaining his first nation for the first time, and marked the occasion in trademark record-breaking fashion.
Haaland broke the deadlock after just seven minutes of the Nations League clash at the Ullevaal Stadium, where Alexander Sorloth doubled the lead seven minutes after the restart.
Sorloth then turned provider just after the hour mark for Haaland, who broke Jorgen Juve's 87-year record with his 34th international goal in just 36 caps.
The result put Norway firmly in charge of Group B3 with seven points, three ahead of Austria and Slovenia, with Kazakhstan propping up the table on one point.
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