Sunday, December 22, 2024

0/6 duels won, 16 passes: Van Nistelrooy must instantly drop United star who lost 13x possession vs Leicester – opinion

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0/6 duels won, 16 passes: Van Nistelrooy must instantly drop United star who lost 13x possession vs Leicester – opinion

Manchester United returned to winning ways with an emphatic 5-2 win over Leicester City in the Carabao Cup fourth round at Old Trafford last night.

The Red Devils made the decision to part ways with manager Erik ten Hag earlier this week and Ruud van Nistelrooy was placed on temporary charge.

The Dutchman made four changes from the 2-1 Premier League loss at West Ham United. The players produced a memorable performance at home.

Casemiro and Bruno Fernandes stood out with two goals apiece with Alejandro Garnacho also finding the net.

It was the first time that United scored five goals against a Premier League opposition since August 2021.

There were lot of positives from the game, but Joshua Zirkzee was a massive disappointment as he was barely involved in his 85-minute appearance.

The Netherlands ace was given the nod to lead the line ahead of Rasmus Hojlund by Van Nistelrooy, but he was hugely disappointing against a weak Foxes side.

The 23-year-old completed just 16 successful passes with an accuracy of 70 percent. He failed to win any of his six duels contested with possession lost on 13 occasions.

Zirkzee did not complete any of his two dribbles either. It was quite surprising that Van Nistelrooy kept him in the game until the closing stages before taking him off.

United will be in Premier League action against Chelsea on Sunday and it is quite clear that Zirkzee must be dropped with Hojlund leading the attack once more.

The Dane has two goals from his last four starts for United. He is obviously a much better threat from the number nine role compared to the former Bologna man.

Stats from Sofascore.com

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