Ruben Amorim has made his stance clear on Joshua Zirkzee after the Manchester United striker’s performance against Crystal Palace in the 2-1 Premier League win.
The 40-year-old Manchester United manager has turned to Joshua Zirkzee as his leading striker after Benjamin Sesko was ruled out of action due to injury.
Describe that finish from Joshua Zirkzee in one word…⚽️ð¥
Zirkzee started for United in the Premier League clash at Old Trafford earlier this week and was met with fierce criticism for his display against 10-man Everton.
Despite United’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to Everton on Monday evening, Ruben Amorim threw his full backing behind the 24-year-old Dutchman for Sunday’s clash.
Zirkzee, who played the full 90 minutes of United’s Premier League encounter with Everton, returned to the starting XI for the second consecutive match.
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Joshua Zirkzee celebrates with his teammates during the Premier League match between Crystal Palace and Manchester United at Selhurst Park in 2025 in London, England.
Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP via Getty Images
Ruben Amorim on the first-half performance of Man Utd striker Joshua Zirkzee after the Crystal Palace match
Joshua Zirkzee led the frontline for the Red Devils on Sunday afternoon and was supported by Mason Mount and Bryan Mbeumo in the first half of the contest.
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The Netherlands international initially struggled to make a real impact on the proceedings, with Jean-Philippe Mateta breaking the deadlock for Crystal Palace.
Amorim stuck with Zirkzee for the second half of Manchester United’s encounter with Palace after the Red Devils went into half-time trailing 1-0 at Selhurst Park.
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Speaking in his post-match press conference, the Red Devils coach singled out the clear-cut difference in Zirkzee’s performance in the first half against the second half.
“Yeah, he was really important, but again, it was not just the goal,” Amorim said, as per BeanymanSports.
“Even the runs behind. In the first half, he struggled in the duels, [but] he won some duels in the second half.”
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What Ruben Amorim felt that Man Utd star Joshua Zirkzee showed against Crystal Palace in the second half
United fought back against Palace at Selhurst Park and Zirkzee sparked the Red Devils’ comeback after cancelling out Jean-Philippe Mateta’s opener.
Bruno Fernandes’ free-kick found its way into the path of Zirkzee, who brought the ball down before striking his effort past Dean Henderson from a tight angle.
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Man Utd player ratings vs Crystal Palace, November 30, 2025
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Amorim said that United improved their overall performance in Sunday’s 2-1 Premier League win because Red Devils striker Zirkzee “played better” in the second half.
“And we improve a lot because of the quality of Josh in the second half and that is important for him to understand that it is just not the goal,” he continued.
“We play better because Josh played better in the second half.”
United sealed all three Premier League points in the second half after Bruno Fernandes set up Mason Mount for the Red Devils’ winner against Palace.