Rio Ferdinand admitted that he was concerned with one Manchester United player’s performance in the first half against Rangers in the Europa League on Thursday.
Neither Manchester United nor Rangers were able to break the deadlock at Old Trafford in the first half and went into half-time with the scoreline level at 0-0.
However, Jack Butland’s comical error in the second half put United in the lead before Rangers found an equaliser thanks to Cyriel Dessers in the 88th minute.
United restored their advantage deep into injury time after Lisandro Martinez picked out an onrushing Bruno Fernandes with a superb cross.
Bruno Fernandes fired a low first-time strike through the legs of Jack Butland and United sealed all three Europa League points on Thursday evening.
Ferdinand reacts to Man Utd star’s performance
Manchester United climbed to fourth place in the Europa League table after their 2-1 victory over Scottish side Rangers at Old Trafford.
The Red Devils have had a strong run of results in the Europa League under Ruben Amorim, with United winning all four of their last four matches in the competition.
United will definitely punch their ticket to the knockout rounds of the Europa League if they beat Romanian outfit FCSB in Bucharest next Thursday.
Speaking on TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand insisted that Joshua Zirkzee was “non-existent” in the first half for United against Rangers.
Joshua Zirkzee, who has been heavily linked with Juventus, started the Europa League tie ahead of United striker Rasmus Hojlund and failed to make a big impact.
The 23-year-old Dutch forward was hooked off in the 82nd minute for Rasmus Hojlund, but Ferdinand felt that Zirkzee was much better in the second half.
“I thought he was non-existent in the first half, to be honest, but I thought he improved in the second half,’ Ferdinand said, as per the Metro.
“He still wasn’t a real threat on the goal but they got their goal in the end.”
Ally McCoist wants to see more from Zirkzee
Joshua Zirkzee has been met with heavy criticism over his lack of goalscoring output since his summer move in 2024 from Serie A side Bologna.
The Netherlands and United striker has made 32 appearances across all competitions and Zirkzee has scored four times and registered three assists.
Speaking on TNT Sports commentary, Rangers legend Ally McCoist insisted that Zirkzee must show that he is more of a “goalscoring threat” for the Red Devils.
“I think he’s done alright Zirkzee but I’ll say it again: I think from Manchester United’s point of view you’d like to see more of a goalscoring threat as well as he played,” he said.
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