Owen Hargreaves raves about Joshua Zirkzee after his sensational cameo in Leeds draw | OneFootball

Former Manchester United midfielder Owen Hargreaves was full of praise for Joshua Zirkzee following his stunning off-the-bench appearance in Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Leeds United.

Zirkzee makes the difference

United fell behind at Elland Road in the 62nd minute when Brenden Aaronson burst in behind their defence to slot the ball home past Senne Lammens.

However, United didn’t stay behind for too long, restoring parity less than three minutes later.

Substitute Zirkzee slipped in Matheus Cunha, who produced a neat finish to make it 1-1. It could have gone either way in the final moments of the clash but the spoils were eventually shared at Elland Road.

For large parts of the game, United appeared to be bereft of attacking inspiration – unsurprising considering they were still without the likes of Amad, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo.

It was not until Zirkzee’s introduction immediately after Leeds went ahead that United truly came alive. His most important contribution was the assist for Cunha’s goal, but he did a lot more than that during the 27 minutes he was on the pitch.

The Dutchman orchestrated United’s attack, bringing a new sense of cohesion and threat to the side. His influence allowed both Cunha and Benjamin Sesko to get more involved and play with greater freedom.

(Stats obtained from Statman Dave)

Zirkzee earned praise from Ruben Amorim after the final whistle, and he was also lauded by Hargreaves.

Hargreaves hails Zirkzee’s impact

Hargreaves said on TNT Sports, “Every time he plays, I think he makes something happen. I think he’s a good ball player. When he gets on the ball, he makes things happen.”

“I think he’s a smart player, he’s a ball carrier. And he made a huge difference into this side. You know, he opens things up, he gets into good positions.”

“And we said before, again, get bodies in the box. He allows you to do that because they get bodies up there in numbers.”

Hargreaves added, “I just thought he gave the team technically something which they didn’t have in the first half. Dorgu was playing in that position [right attacking midfield].”

“That’s not his game. He’s a left back or a left wing back. Zirkzee, I thought he had a big impact on the game.”

United are next in action on Wednesday when they face Burnley at Turf Moor.

Feature image Molly Darlington via Getty Images

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