‘Man United trio should have been the first’ to get Joshua Zirkzee treatment
Casemiro, Christian Eriksen or Lisandro Martinez should have been substituted before Joshua Zirkzee as Man United were beaten by Newcastle, Gabby Agbonlahor has claimed.
The Red Devils suffered yet more misery on Monday (30 December) as they were beaten 2-0 by Newcastle at Old Trafford.
It is now six defeats in eight games in all competitions for Ruben Amorim’s side, who have slipped to 14th in the Premier League table.
One moment that summed up the problems at Man United right now came when summer signing Joshua Zirkzee was substituted just 33 minutes into the match, to be replaced by Kobbie Mainoo.
That change was greeted by a chorus of audible cheers from the home crowd, which left Gary Neville stunnned as he commentated on the game for Sky Sports.
Now Agbonlahor has suggested that Zirkzee should not even have been the player taken off by Amorim at that point in the match.
Speaking about the incident on talkSPORT, the former Aston Villa striker said: “I just didn’t like it, It wasn’t nice. There’s no more embarrassment than being taken off in the first half, it’s worse than being a sub who gets subbed.
“I don’t think he was any worse than [Amad] Diallo was or any worse than [Rasmus] Hojlund. I don’t think he had to take him off. I think he had to take Casemiro or [Christian] Eriksen off and put [Kobbie] Mainoo in there.
“[Lisandro] Martinez should have been dragged after 34 minutes, not make a scapegoat of Zirkzee.
“Amorim will look back at that and think ‘yeah, maybe it was a bit harsh taking him off after 34 minutes.”
Joshua Zirkzee can feel hard done by over Man United substitution vs Newcastle
Football Insider Opinion
There were certainly more suitable candidates than Zirkzee for Amorim to consider taking off against Newcastle at Old Trafford.
Admittedly the striker was far from playing well as his tough start to life at Man United continued following his move in the summer, but he was far from the only culprit as Agbonlahor says.
The midfield duo of Eriksen and Casemiro clearly no longer have the legs to work as a pair together at the veteran stage of their careers, and were being overrun in the centre of the park.
Martinez meanwhile had a poor time of things when it came to the two goals that Newcastle had already scored at that point.
Taking off any of those three ahead of Zirkzee could have helped solidify the situation for Man United, without costing them an extra attacking outlet as they looked to get back into the game.
With that in mind there is a case for the striker to feel he was harshly treated all round here, and how he bounces back from this will surely have a major influence on his career with the Red Devils.
In other news, Amad Diallo has opened up on the recent struggles Man United have endured.
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