Ruben Amorim hasn’t had the dream start as the new manager of Manchester United.
Indeed, a 1-1 draw against Ipswich Town was not the start that Amorim had in mind, and, at the weekend, the gaffer was getting frustrated.
Amorim was annoyed with Casemiro for a mis-placed pass at one point, while, accoding to Jack Rosser, speaking on the Sky Sports Back Pages Podcast, Amorim was getting angry with Joshua Zirkzee towards the end of the game.
Rosser says he had eyes on Amorim from the press box at Portman Road, and he says that he saw Amorim absolutely berating Zirkzee for not bursting into the penalty area.
Joshua Zirkzee of Manchester United during the UEFA Europa League 2024/25 League Phase MD1 match between Manchester United and FC Twente at Old Tra...
Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
Ruben Amorim was angry with Joshua Zirkzee
Rosser shared what he saw from the press box.
The journalist says that he saw Amorim getting angry with the Manchester United striker due to the fact he wasn’t getting into the box.
“Yeah, well, I was at Ipswich on Sunday, and I watched him closely. It was interesting to watch his body language and his reaction on the touchline, because he was very frustrated with a lot of his players. There was an incident right at the end of the game, 93rd minute, they’re chasing a winner, and he absolutely berated Joshua Zirkzee for just not getting in the penalty area,” Rosser said.
“He was strolling around 20 yards outside the penalty box, and he said, look, he basically made him sprint into the box. And he actually referenced that after the game, saying that Zirkzee has to know that he’s got to be in the box, he referenced Jonny Evans not getting close enough to certain players. So he’s not afraid of saying it as he is.”
Zirkzee compared to Viktor Gyokeres
This could be a very frustrating few weeks for Ruben Amorim.
Indeed, Amorim has gone from working with one of Europe’s deadliest marksmen at Sporting, Viktor Gyokeres, to a misfiring forward in the shape of Joshua Zirkzee.
The stats show just how different these two players’ form has been this season.
Joshua Zirkzee this season Viktor Gyokeres this season
Games 12 11
Goals 1 16
Assists 1 1
League games only
While goalscoring has become second-nature for Gyokeres this season and he’s able to use his confidence to sniff out chances from nowhere and score goals, Zirkzee is the exact opposite.
Interestingly, Gyokeres has been linked to Manchester United.
Zirkzee has no confidence at all right now, and he won’t be making those instinctive moves into dangerous positions in the same way a player like Gyokeres would after a lightning start to the season.
It’s up to Amroim to re-instil that confidence into Zirkzee to turn him back into a striker who is genuinely worth the £37m United paid for him.
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