THE NOTEBOOK: Avram Glazer makes Old Trafford return for the first time in TWO YEARS to watch Man United's win over Fulham, while Sky Sports show new broadcasting initiative during season-opener

Joshua Zirkzee's late winner saw Manchester United beat Fulham in the opening game of the Premier League season on Friday night.

Both sides had their moments in what was a fairly uninspiring way to kickstart the new campaign.

New signing Zirkzee came off the bench to produce a neat near post finish to snatch the three points at Old Trafford. 

Mail Sport's Aadam Patel takes a look at some of things you may have missed at Old Trafford.

Avram returns 

There was no sign of Sir Jim Ratcliffe at Old Trafford but Avram Glazer was in the building for the first time since August 2022 when Manchester United lost their first home game of the season to Brighton. 

It’s only the third time that the 63-year-old has been at Old Trafford in the last five years. 

The Glazer family are rarely spotted in Manchester with United fans often protesting against their ownership. 

But 63-year-old Avram was present and was seen regularly sharing jokes with David Gill, the former chief executive of Man Utd. Near them was Sir Dave Brailsford, Dan Ashworth, Omar Berrada and Jason Wilcox – all part of the United hierarchy.

VAR account shows its value

A new Premier League Match Centre account was launched on X earlier in the week with the aim of increasing transparency around VAR and officiating and it took just 17 minutes on Friday for its first match-related post. 

United claimed for penalty in the 13th minute but Jarred Gillett on VAR duty confirmed referee Robert Jones’ call of no penalty, deeming there was no impactful contact by Antonee Robinson and Alex Iwobi on Amad Diallo. Though that information was not relayed to fans inside the ground.

Carsley gets straight to work

No time wasted by new England manager Lee Carsley who was sat in his seat in the Old Trafford Directors’ Box half an hour before kick-off. 

Carsley was seen having a a chat with PFA chief executive Maheta Molango and the Premier League’s chief football officer Tony Scholes - the PFA and Premier League are both part of a legal action being taken against FIFA over their lack of consultation with the expanding match calendar. 

The 2024-25 club season won’t end till the Club World Cup final in the US on July 13.

Sky mix things up 

In what seems like a new initiative from Sky Sports for the new Premier League season, Jamie Carragher interviewed Marco Silva from inside the Fulham dressing room pre-match. 

The current Premier League broadcasting rights deal is worth £5billion across three seasons until the end of this campaign though it will be interesting to see just how many clubs will be willing to allow broadcasters that level of access.

Emile's classy touches 

Emile Smith Rowe impressed on his Fulham debut with some neat touches all around the pitch. 

A superb early run led to Mason Mount picking up a booking after dragging him down. 

The task now for Smith Rowe - who managed just 34 appearances over the last two seasons - is to show that he can do it week in, week out.

Another OT opener 

For the 10th time in the last 11 seasons, United began their Premier League campaign with a home match, including now their last eight seasons in a row. 

They are the first side in Premier League history to start a season with a home game in eight seasons consecutively.