Joshua Zirkzee re-emerged for the second half long before the rest of his teammates to take his place back on the bench and was hardly noticed. They noticed him at full-time.
No striker and no goals. Once Manchester United had a striker on, they got their goal. Zirkzee’s integration has now been vindicated with a goalscoring Old Trafford debut, just like the returning Dutchman in the dugout.
Zirkzee and Alejandro Garnacho started warming up within five minutes of the restart. Eight minutes later, Erik ten Hag hollered their names. Ruud van Nistelrooy was stood next to Ten Hag when Garnacho and Zirkzee combined for United’s winner.
