Ruben Amorim hails “quality” Joshua Zirkzee for sparking comeback win vs. Crystal Palace | OneFootball

Manchester United head coach Ruben Amorim has heaped praise on Joshua Zirkzee for being the difference in the team’s 2-1 win against Crystal Palace.

United complete comeback vs. Palace

Palace took the lead in the 36th minute courtesy of Jean-Philippe Mateta, who converted from the penalty spot. Mateta won the penalty for Palace after Leny Yoro clumsily brought him down inside the box.

A lethargic United appeared to be having another off day but they came out guns blazing after the interval.

The visitors restored parity nine minutes after the restart through Zirkzee, who produced a superb touch and held up the ball well before firing into the back of the net from an extremely tight angle.

United went on to gain the advantage when Mason Mount curled the ball underneath the wall after Bruno Fernandes cleverly layed off a free-kick into his path.

Speaking to reporters in his post-match presser, Amorim lavished praise on Zirkzee for his stunning turnaround, transforming from a challenging first half into United’s driving force after the break.

Amorim’s remarks

Asked what he said to the team during half-time, Amorim answered, “No. It’s just for everyone to understand the game. I felt in the last 10 minutes of the first half that the opponent was struggling and would struggle in the second half. We had a feeling that we needed to change something about the way we were playing.”

“It was that of course. We tried to change little things in the game. But the intensity and the quality, in the way we connect, especially Josh [Zirkzee] was better and that improved a lot the way we play.”

On Bryan Mbeumo shifting to more inside positions and getting closer to Zirkzee, Amorim explained, “I think it’s not so much about going near Josh. I just said to the players we need to be more alive and you felt that. If you are alive you are in more places, you are near the ball more often.”

“I think everyone did that, but we also need to understand that the opponent was tired in the second half and when you increase the rhythm and the opponent is tired and suffers a goal, you felt that we had control of the game and that’s it.”

Amorim said about Zirkzee’s performance, “It’s not just the goal. Even the runs behind. In the first half he struggled in the duels and he won some duels in the second half, and we improved a lot because of the quality of Josh in the second half. That is really important for him to understand – we played better, not just cause of the goal, but also because Josh played better in the second half.”

Asked about Diogo Dalot’s display, Amorim remarked, “If you have certain characteristics – the pace, you can go right or left – you need to use that in every game in the Premier League. It’s not just one game and then you drop a little bit the level. But it’s the same thing I said with Patrick [Dorgu]. I know they have a lot of quality. They just need to be relaxed sometimes and show that and show the quality.”

The United head coach reiterated his absolute belief that his players could stage a comeback, pointing out that Palace were visibly tiring as the game wore on.

On the lack of intensity during the opening 45 minutes, Amorim replied, “Sometimes it’s a lot of things. You may not need to move but the pace of the ball could be better. We need to understand that Matta [De Ligt] was the free man with time to think.”

“If you see in the second half, sometimes it was him who started the play. And then when you have one play, two plays…the rhythm flows better and you increase everything mentally and physically.

Amorim confirmed that the players have been working more on refining their set-piece routines.

“We have more time to work. We work a lot and we are learning. We’re learning a lot in England. I think you’re used to that [set-piece goals]. When you come to England you learn a lot from other teams about how to do it, and we are stealing a lot of things to score goals.”

United are next in action on Thursday evening when they welcome West Ham to Old Trafford.

Featured image Warren Little via Getty Images

online polls

The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social