Joshua Zirkzee scored his first goal of the season as Manchester United came from behind to beat Crystal Palace. Dutch player hits back at doubters
Troy Deeney was forced to swallow his words after his fierce critic Joshua Zirkzee scored for Manchester United, leaving the former Watford man “astonished”.
The Dutchman has endured a difficult 18 months at Old Trafford, but the goals have not come as expected. United’s wasteful summer saw them drop down the table, but they helped them pick up three points against Crystal Palace.
It was Zirksee’s first goal of the season, and it came after Deeney, who scored just seven points last season, targeted the forward. The former Premier League forward claimed he could do a better job than the Dutchman if given a few weeks of time to train with the Manchester team.
Deeney told talkSPORT: “It’s really bad again from Zirksee. I’ve been retired for two years and Manchester United gave me six weeks and a third of his work and I’m sure I can probably do better. It’s embarrassing to watch him play at this moment. He just looks like a lost soul, a completely lost soul.”
Zirksee was on hand to answer any doubters as he scored in the 54th minute to equalize for United at Selhurst Park. He grabbed Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick, controlled the ball and fired a shot past Dean Henderson and into the far corner.
read more: Manchester United player rating: 8/10 stars after big win against Crystal Palaceread more: Ruben Amorim praises Joshua Zirkzee after Manchester United striker’s reaction to his half-time words
Deeney insisted he was stunned by Zirksee’s strike, not just because of his struggles this season, but because it showed the confidence of an in-form striker rather than a player who was struggling to make appearances.
“He has no right to score that. I have doubts about the keeper, but it’s a great finish. We’ve given him grief and rightly so, but this is a big moment in his career. I’m surprised he did it. It’s not even the fact that he scored a goal. It’s the fact that he hasn’t shown the ability to even take a shot in this game, but the fact that he even has that level of confidence that he can even take a shot is frightening. ”
Zirkzee’s goal canceled out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s penalty and Mason Mount gave United the lead in south London. It was the ideal response for the Red Devils, who lost at home to Everton on Monday. With these three points, coach Ruben Amorim’s team moved up to seventh place.
The United manager was full of praise for how Zirksee improved after a difficult first half. He said: “Scoring goals is very important for a striker. He hasn’t played a lot of minutes, but how he reacts in the second half is very important.”
“It’s more important than just a goal. Again, it’s a small thing, but by winning the first ball, you win the second ball, the connection. That’s really important to our game. And the goals are really important for us and for him.”
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