It is too early to call this a turning point, but Joshua Zirkzee deserves to be remembered for his important contributions in Manchester United's comeback victory over Crystal Palace. The trust in this striker who has been criticized for a long time seems to have been revived thanks to his impressive performance.
After failing to take advantage of the opportunity to welcome Everton, Zirkzee continued to have difficulty throughout the first half at Selhurst Park. The contrast between him and Jean- Philippe Mateta was one of the obvious reasons why Palace dominated early in the match.
However, early in the second half, Zirkzee scored a smart equalizer from a tight angle and headed the ball, creating conditions for Man United to award a free kick, from which Mason Mount scored the decisive goal. His contribution received praise from coach Ruben Amorim after the match.
"It's not just goals, it's smart runs. In the first half, he struggled in the disputes, but won some situations in the second half. We have improved a lot thanks to Josh's performance, and the important thing is that he understands that it's not just about goals" - Amorim commented.
Statistics also support this view. Zirkzee won the air disputes - including the second goal - in the final half of the match, more than double the first half. "We played better because Josh played better in the second half," Amorim stressed.
Zirkzee's pass completion rate has skyrocketed from 57% to 77%. With his first Premier League goal in nearly a year, his confidence was clearly strengthened. Zirkzee also ended the match with six successful saves, leading all the players in the last week of competition in the Premier League.
Zirkzee's achievement is not quite on par with his performance against Everton last season. However, to find a Man United striker with similar saves in a match, we have to go back 7 years ago, when Romelu Lukaku was playing at Old Trafford.
It may seem surprising, but Zirkzee was third in Serie A in similar statistics in his final season at Bologna. This is not only a characteristic of his playing style, but also the foundation for Ruben Amorim's tactics at Man United.
Zirkzee had to actively train his physical strength to do that, and even though he was late, he completed his mission. 18 months have passed since the Dutchman joined the club, and the views of Willem Weijs, his former coach at Anderlecht, are still valid.
"Sometimes it's a problem for players. They think the important thing is just skills, scoring goals and playing beautiful football, but professional football requires other qualities" - Weijs shared. In the match against Palace, Zirkzee showed all those qualities.
