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Man Utd produced an improved performance against Real Sociedad on Thursday night.
Ruben Amorim praised Joshua Zirkzee for his impressive performance as Manchester United defeated Real Sociedad to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Europa League. Bruno Fernandes bagged a hat-trick and Diogo Dalot added a fourth, yet Zirkzee still managed to shine with his performance in the final third.
The 23-year-old has improved since he was repurposed to an attacking midfield role by head coach Amorim and almost grabbed a sensational assist when he set up Rasmus Hojlund for a chance in the first half of the match. Zirkzee had his chances to score but failed to add to the six he has netted since he signed last summer.
Amorim was pleased with the performance of the unorthodox attacker on what was a fine night for his side, but there are still concerns about the lack of goal threat that his two senior striking options have to offer.
Ruben Amorim challenges Joshua Zirkzee to offer attacking threat
Speaking in his post-match press conference, Ruben Amorim was quizzed on the performance of Joshua Zirkzee and whether it was his best display since he was named Manchester United head coach.
"I think all the team played really well," he told reporters. "I think the moments that we lost some of the control of the game was our fault, but I think we did a very complete exhibition, we defended quite well, sometimes one against one in the back, we tried to play, we showed some movements and Josh was part of that.
“I think he is improving. He is more aggressive when he doesn’t have the ball, he is improving without the ball but can help Josh a lot with the ball because he has the talent. In some plays I think he can be more direct, he has a lot of class touching the ball, but sometimes he needs to think more as a striker: 'I need to score, no matter what.' It doesn't need to be the most beautiful goal or control, but he is improving."
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