Manchester United’s new recruit Joshua Zirkzee announced himself with a goal to gift his side their first win of the season.
United started the game without a recognized striker while Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes interchanged in the false nine role.
Having not been part of the team’s preseason tour, Zirkzee was dropped to the bench despite being available as the team played without a centre forward in the Manchester derby in the community Shield game on Sunday.
Coach Erik Ten Hag threw the new man into the scene in the 60th minute alongside Argentine winter Alejandro Gernacho.
After a series of attempts that resulted in no goal, United’s saviour arrived in the 87th minute after being located via a short cross from Gernacho, giving Zirkzee the opportunity to slot home his first goal in United’s colours.
Zirkzee, 23, joined United from Bologna for €42.5million (£35.8m $46.2m) last month but didn’t feature for the team until today.
The forward reached the semi-finals of the European Championship with the Netherlands, delaying his linking up with the United squad for pre-season.
United started their 2024/25 Premier League campaign with a win and debut for three of their new signings as Noussair Mazraoui started at right-back while Joshua Zirkzee and Matthijs De Ligt came on as substitutes.
