A method is described of injecting fuel into an internal combustion engine. The internal combustion engine utilises direct fuel injection and comprises a plurality of cylinders, each of which has an associated piston. The method comprises simultaneously applying different injection patterns to at least two of the cylinders in dependence on initial positions of their respective pistons. The method comprises injecting a first cylinder of the internal combustion engine according to an optimum injection pattern, and, simultaneously, injecting a second cylinder of the internal combustion engine according to a start-up injection pattern. The start-up injection pattern is determined in dependence on the optimum injection pattern and the initial position of the piston associated with said second cylinder.