‘Delicious football’: BBC Pundit reacts to what ‘brilliant’ Man Utd player did 12 minutes in vs Newcastle | OneFootball

Manchester United fans haven’t exactly been treated to the best football in Ruben Amorim’s opening campaign in charge.

To give the former Sporting CP boss credit where credit is due, however, there have definitely been flashes of brilliance.

Albeit, these have been few and far between in a season far below the standards expected of the Red Devils.

Joshua Zirzkee was the architect of one such move in the opening quarter of an hour at St James’ Park on Sunday.

Joshua Zirkzee dazzles against Newcastle

(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)

It would have been a sequence of play to lead the highlights reels post-game, with the Dutchman playing some stunning one-touch football to supply the run of Bruno Fernandes.

Our skipper returned the favour to hand the forward possession in space within the 18-yard box, but unfortunately, the finish was not forthcoming on this occasion.

Still, it prompted BBC Sport’s Pat Nevin to applaud the ‘delicious’ moment of ingenuity online: “Delicious football. The little flick turn by Joshua Zirkzee, everything about that move was brilliant but he just couldn’t finish it.

“It’s a good save by Nick Pope.”

Zirkzee has registered 10 goal contributions in his prior 47 games (across all competitions), at a rate of one goal or assist every 218.3 minutes.

What do the stats say?

Sofascore have handed the 23-year-old a 6.1/10 rating 22 minutes into the clash.

The former Bologna man has registered one sole shot on target (following on from his superb combo play with Fernandes).

It’s not exactly been a campaign to remember for our 2024 summer signing, but much like Amorim’s 2024/25 season, we’ve seen more than a handful of indications of the player Zirkzee could be for us.

We certainly can’t see Manchester United’s hierarchy sanctioning an early exit this summer – nor would we advocate for it.

That said, we could certainly benefit from investing in a forward line that could excel in overlapping Joshua Zirkzee and showcasing his ability to drop deep and connect play. A feature of his game once again showcased in his Sofascore heatmap.

(Imagery courtesy of Sofascore)