“Sadly we couldn’t change it all around” - Joshua Zirkzee highlights what Manchester United ‘can be proud of’ despite 4-3 loss to Spurs
Manchester United attacker Joshua Zirkzee voiced his thoughts following the side's 4-3 loss to Tottenham Hotspur in the Carabao Cup. The Dutchman suggested that despite the defeat, the side's passion to remain in the game was a positive takeaway.
Zirkzee said (via MUTV):
"A bit disappointed. Losing is never fun, especially when you're in a cup that you could potentially win. It's disappointing but I think we showed great spirit as well.
"We just kept fighting and I think we can be proud of ourselves for the fact that we never stopped but yeah, disappointing. I think it was good timing [to score United's first goal of the night] and it came in front of the fans.
He went on to add how the Red Devils came close to turning the game in their favor, saying:
"The goal from Amad also gave us a real boost and that's what we tried to do when we came on. We wanted to bring energy to the pitch but sadly we couldn't change it all around. We just have to keep going. We have to deliver and we'll go out on Sunday and make sure we get three points."
Despite Spurs taking a 3-0 lead in the second half, Manchester United got themselves back into the game, scoring twice through Zirkzee and Amad Diallo. However, Heung-min Son scored from a corner in the 88th minute and despite Jonny Evans' late goal, Ruben Amorim's side's hopes of heading to the semis were quashed.
Ruben Amorim reveals the reason behind Manchester United's loss to Tottenham
Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim suggested that a poor eight-minute window in the second half played a role in their 4-3 loss to Tottenham in the Carabao Cup. Speaking after the game, he said (via Sky Sports):
"We controlled the possession. We were not the best team in all of the game but in most of the parts I think we were the best team. We disconnected for eight minutes and it was hard to recover from that, but the lads did a great job to recover. We were so near the draw but the fourth goal was really hard for us.
"We disconnected for eight minutes and that cost us the game."
It was 1-0 to the hosts coming off the break but a poor start to the second period saw them score twice. Dejan Kulusevski scored a minute into the restart while Dominic Solanke added his second to make it 3-0 after 54 minutes.
Manchester United came close to completing the comeback, making it 3-2, but were unable to do so. They will hope to get back to winning ways with their next clash against Bournemouth in the Premier League.