“It can get to you”: United hero opens up on difficult spell and how he dealt with intense criticism

Manchester United came back from a goal down to end Crystal Palace’s 12-game unbeaten run at home in the Premier League with a 2-1 victory at Selhurst Park on Sunday. Fans were expecting the visitors to come flying out of the traps given their dismal 0-1 defeat to the 10 men of Everton last week. But the first half was more of the same as the Red Devils looked lethargic and deservedly went into the break a goal down. But the team responded in the second-half through an unlikely source. Joshua Zirkzee evaded his marker from a free-kick, controlled Bruno Fernandes’ pass expertly before slamming home from an acute angle. Joshua Zirkzee on ending his PL barren run This was only the Dutchman’s second start of the season, and he looked rusty against the Toffees. And in the opening 45 minutes, he looked lost. But the second half goal showed the quality the 24-year-old possesses, and with Benjamin Sesko out injured, and with Bryan Mbeumo, and Amad set to depart for AFCON duty next month, Ruben Amorim will need the ex-Bologna ace to step up. StatValue Goals1 Expected goals (xG)0.03 Assists0 Expected assists (xA)0.01 Total shots1 Expected goals on target (xGOT)0.16 Shots on target1 Shots blocked0 Touches51 Unsuccessful touches8 Dribbles (successful)0 (0) Possession lost21 Key passes1 Crosses (accurate)0 (0) Accurate passes22/34 (65%) Passes in opposition half (acc.)14/23 (61%) Passes in own half (acc.)8/11 (73%) Tackles (won)2 (2) Interceptions0 Clearances2 Blocked shots0 Recoveries3 Ground duels (won)4 (2) Aerial duels (won)11 (6) Fouls1 Dribbled past0 After the game, TNT Sports caught up with the goalscorer, and he was delighted to get on the scoresheet and help the Red Devils clinch all three points. “A great feeling, it’s always a good feeling to score. But most importantly, it just got us back in the game. This guy [Mount] scored a pretty good goal as well! “It was all about three points today and I’m just very happy that we got them, it’s very important.” “Today is a reward for patience, hard work and consistency” Goalscorers Mason Mount and Joshua Zirkzee reflect on today’s performance and the impact of Man United’s positive environment 🙌 🎙️@julesbreach | 📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/4Owtn4Q5TJ — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) November 30, 2025 Interestingly, this was the United No.11’s first Premier League goal in 364 days. Plenty have pointed out his lack of clinicalness in front of goal as a reason for Amorim not trusting him enough. Joshua Zirkzee thanks his teammates and the coach for trusting him During this difficult period, he has incessantly been linked with an exit, but Joshua Zirkzee revealed how hard it was to deal with all the outside noise and how grateful he was to his teammates and the head coach for helping him come out of the rough patch. “It’s one of the biggest clubs in the world and you have to perform. If you don’t score for a long time, it can get to you, but I’m surrounded by great players, great people, and we help each other every day. They made it quite easy for me. “Today was just a reward I think for patience, hard work, trying to be consistent, and I’m just thankful to them, the manager as well, staff, everyone. [It’s] a good environment.” Joshua Zirkzee has the qualities to play in Amorim’s system, now for him to prove it on the pitch every week when he gets the chance. Feature image Julian Finney via Getty Images The Peoples Person has been one of the world’s leading Man United news sites for over a decade. Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social Ayantan Chowdhury After failing to become a professional footballer, Ayantan switched to the next best thing: writing about the greatest football club in the world. He has extensive sports journalism experience, having worked for over 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25