Forget the 4-1 loss, £36m star’s setback is the worst outcome of Manchester United defeat to Newcastle

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Manchester United suffered a defeat to Newcastle United, after a second half collapse.

Does Manchester United’s defeat to Newcastle matter? In the grand scheme of the season, probably not.

The Red Devils remain rooted 13th in the Premier League table, although even a win would have kept United in 13th. This season is a lost cause.

United’s league season was a lost cause a long time ago. The team have not escaped the bottom half of the table since October.

Joshua Zirkzee injured

Manchester United suffered a blow that was more important than the defeat itself when Joshua Zirkzee was substituted with an injury against Newcastle.

Zirkzee pulled up in the 55th minute, appearing to suffer a hamstring injury. The full diagnosis will not be clear for a few days, but this could be an injury which costs him weeks, and at worst case scenario, ends his season.

In the short-term, this would be costly for United. Zirkzee was emerging as United’s most reliable forward after a huge regression from Rasmus Hojlund.

Zirkzee scored United’s second goal against Lyon and deserved his start against Newcastle.

Early on against the Toon, he linked up magically with Bruno Fernandes in a piece of one-touch combination play reminiscent of a certain striker duo in 1999, unfortunately lacking the finish to match.

Zirkzee’s injury came amid a mazy run through the Newcastle defence, and it was apparent straight away he needed to come off.

Rasmus Hojlund was totally ineffective after coming on, and United were worse with his predictable efforts in attack. He had one shot that landed off target.

Losing Zirkzee is far more impactful than the result itself, and a serious blow for head coach Ruben Amorim, who has already ruled him out of the Lyon second leg.

Joshua Zirkzee improvement

Joshua Zirkzee has not been totally convincing since he signed for United for £36 million from Bologna in 2024.

In United’s previous game against Newcastle, Zirkzee was hooked after just 36 minutes, an embarrassing scenario that has fuelled his subsequent improvement.

Zirkzee has been one of United’s best players in 2025, and he has been particularly useful following Amad’s injury.

It speaks volumes about Zirkzee’s improvement that his injury is viewed as a serious blow right now, a potentially impactful one against Lyon in the second leg later this week, and for the remainder of the season as a whole.