"Only thing he did today was sweat", "Worried about him" - Manchester United fans call out star despite 5-2 win over Leicester
Manchester United fans were left annoyed with striker Joshua Zirkzee's performance during their 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup. The Red Devils booked their place in the quarterfinals of the competition with a convincing win over the Foxes at Old Trafford on Wednesday, October 30.
Summer signing Zirkzee has come in for a great deal of criticism, having scored just the one goal since his arrival at the club from Bologna in the summer. The 23-year-old Dutch striker was trusted to start in the Red Devils' first outing after Erik ten Hag was sacked.
Zirkzee failed to impress in Ruud van Nistelrooy's first game in charge as interim manager, despite the Red Devils showing great promise in attack. They found the back of the net five times against Leicester, but the Netherlands international failed to record a goal contribution.
With their patience with the former Bayern Munich prodigy wearing thin, Manchester United fans on X shared their feelings about his display in the game. A fan wrote:
"The only thing Zirkzee did today was sweat."
"Worried about Zirkzee already," another added.
A fan praised Casemiro, while also implying that Zirkzee deserved a zero rating for his performance.
"Out of scale of Zirkzee to 10, CASAMIRO WAS A SOLID 9,", they wrote.
"Zirkzee ain’t making it," another fan posted.
A fan predicted that the Dutchman would soon be handed a penalty kick to boost his confidence.
"They are going to dash Zirkzee a pen soon for confidence," they posted.
"we gotta move zirkzee on soon he’s terrible," another wrote.
Joshua Zirkzee managed just two shots and two touches in the opposition box in 85 minutes of action. The Dutchman also lost all six of the duels he contested and completed zero dribbles. Van Nistelrooy eventually took him off for teenage academy graduate Ethan Wheatley after 85 minutes.
(Stats via FotMob. The platforms may change these stats as per their prerogative.)
Manchester United return to winning ways in Carabao Cup
With one win in their eight previous games, Manchester United ran the risk of having their season crumble completely before the midway point of the campaign. The decision to sack Erik ten Hag and subsequent 5-2 win over Leicester City could prove to be the shot in the arm they needed.
With Ruud van Nistelrooy in interim charge, the Red Devils opened the scoring against Leicester City through a brilliant Casemiro strike after just 15 minutes. Alejandro Garnacho joined in the party 13 minutes later to double Manchester United's advantage.
Bilal El Khannouss pulled one back for the Foxes in the 33rd minute before Bruno Fernandes fired home a free-kick via a deflection to make it 3-1 in the 36th minute. Casemiro doubled his tally three minutes later from close range before Conor Coady scored in first-half stoppage-time for the Foxes.
Bruno scored his side's fifth goal in the 59th minute to round off the scoring for Manchester United and seal their place in the quarterfinals of the competition.