Man United star showed surprising ‘quality’ vs Fulham, his future role is clear

One Manchester United star showed their surprising quality in the win against Fulham, with their future role being clear.

United began their 2024/25 Premier League season with a 1-0 win over The Cottagers on Friday evening.

Although they played well, the Reds had difficulty converting their chances. Bruno Fernandes had the two best opportunities in the first half, but both were saved by Bernd Leno.

Erik ten Hag’s team applied strong pressure and created numerous chances, but their finishing fell short until Joshua Zirkzee’s late impact.

The Dutch striker scored a brilliant goal in the 87th minute of the game, securing the win for his new club.

What was equally impressive about Zirkzee’s goal was the build-up. After a great turn from Fernandes, the 23-year-old ‘9.5’ dropped into a useful space to receive the ball to his feet.

He then passed wide to the right before ghosting into the box and getting a deft touch on the ball.

Despite being a physical unit, Zirkzee looked surprisingly comfortable whenever he dropped deeper and his technique was on display multiple times in the game.

Danny Webber was impressed by the versatility new striker Zirkzee showed on the pitch against Marco Silva’s side.

“It’s rare that you see somebody in that stature, 6 foot 2, 6’3, have such soft feet, as I call it, when you are nice with the ball and not just relying on your physicality,” Webber told MUTV.

“You saw the deft touch on his finish, he’s got quality, good quality.

“It will be interesting to see where he plays, you don’t see him as a out and out number nine week in and week out where he’s running in behind.

“You almost see him playing a hybrid role between a nine and a 10 where he is dropping deep and making runs, finding spaces, pretty much the way he got his goal.

“The more of a rhythm he gets into, the fitter he gets, the more comfortable he feels in a United shirt. and I hope to see a lot from him.”

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