Manchester United’s FA Cup defence is over after missed penalties from Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee condemned them to a defeat.
The game was 1-1 after regular time courtesy of Bruno Fernandes equalising to cancel out Calvin Bassey’s goal and the extra-time didn’t yield any goals.
Chido Obi impressed in his cameo vs Fulham while Fernandes ended up on the scoresheet, with Diogo Dalot assisting.
However, it was another player entirely who caught the eye of Ruben Amorim after the game despite the loss. He’s ‘improving a lot’.
Ruben Amorim singles out Man Utd man ‘improving a lot’
The team looked short of quality in the final third despite bossing territory to begin with and the theme continued throughout the game.
Christian Eriksen floated between the lines and kept probing, while Manuel Ugarte’s tenaciousness continued to win him favour from fans.
Matthijs de Ligt had a titanic game vs Fulham but the true improvement could be seen, ironically, in the man who confirmed United’s defeat – Joshua Zirkzee.
Zirkzee, back in his new No. 10 position, stitched play seamlessly with his trademark slick play. Most notably, when the bodies around him kept falling, he was the one who kept going like it was still the first minute of the game.
Amorim praised Zirkzee’s improvement after the game, saying that it’s slowly fixing their big issue – chance creation.
He said: “I think it is sometimes the quality of the players [that helps in chance creation]… Bruno, Casemiro, Josh [Zirkzee] is improving a lot, he’s fighting for every ball. It’s the quality of the players that helps us to create more chances.”
Joshua Zirkzee has a building block now
His combination play and hold-up skills allowed United to move up the pitch even when they were under the cosh.
He was prone to being hurried off the ball at times, as evidenced by him losing so many ground duels (5/23) but even to lose a duel one has to be willing to get into those duels.
Zirkzee kept battling without getting disheartened at the loss of possession, eager to take the ball and run at the defence every time.
That is something that has separated Bruno Fernandes from his teammates for a long time now, and for the Dutchman to show building blocks of that same trait promises hope for the future.
Sometimes, superstars emerge from the hubris of a dead season and against Fulham, Zirkzee shows that he still might be one yet.
How he comes back from his missed penalty will be the next test of his mental fortitude but he passed the physical fortitude test with flying colours.
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