Troy Deeney was forced to eat a portion of humble pie after Joshua Zirkzee made a valuable contribution to Manchester United’s comeback win over Crystal Palace.
The Red Devils looked as though they were starting another damaging defeat in the face after they trailed at half-time to Jean-Phillipe Mateta’s twice-taken penalty.
Ruben Amorim had hoped his side would show a reaction to Monday’s abject performance against Everton but, in truth, they were fortunate to still be in the contest after 45 lifeless minutes at Selhurst Park.
The hosts, however, as they have done throughout the season following European matches, tired after the interval and allowed United a route back into the contest.
Zirkzeesparked the turnaround with a superb goal which was at odds with what had gone before with a display thathad left former Premier League striker Deeney stunned.
Your ultimate guide to the football season
Metro’s football newsletter: In The Mixer. Exclusive analysis, FPL tips and transfer talk sent straight to your inbox every Friday – sign up, it’s an open goal.
‘It’s really poor again from Zirkzee,’ Deeney said on talkSPORT. ‘I’ve been retired for two years – Man United give me six weeks and a third of what he’s doing and I’m probably sure I can do better.
‘It is embarrassing watching him play at this moment in time. He just looks like a lost soul, an absolute lost soul.’
In fairness, few could have envisaged Zirkzee having such a transformational impact on a previously one-sided contest given he produced so little during the first 45 minutes.
Indeed, after just just nine passes, 23 touches of the ball and no shots on target he could hardly have complained had he been hooked, but he repaid his manager’s faith with a stunning strike.
Latching onto Bruno Fernandes’ cleverly angled free-kick, Zirkzee trapped the ball in an instant before lashing a thumping shot across Dean Henderson and into the far corner.
‘He’s got no right to score that,’ commented Deeny. ‘I’m questioning the ‘keeper, but it’s a wonderful finish.
‘We’ve been giving him grief, and rightly so, but that’s a massive moment in his career.
‘I’m flabbergasted that he’s done that.
‘It’s not even the fact that he scored the goal, it’s the fact he’s shown you nothing in this game so far that you would even get a shot off.
‘But to even have that level of self-assuredness to even take the shot. The confidence of it is frightening.’
With Matheus Cunha injured as well as fellow forwards Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeuomo set to feature in the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, Amorim is likely to call upon the much maligned Zirkzee more frequently in the coming weeks.
Asked if a first league goal in nearly a year would boost his confidence, Amorim said: ‘Scoring is important but it’s not just the goals. They give confidence but Joshua has also improved a lot in how he holds the ball.
‘That should give him a lot of confidence. He influences the game and that’s important to our game. He needs to maintain that level in training.’
He added: ‘It’s the runs and you could see it with Joshua Zirkzee and how he connected with the team through the second ball.
‘You have to explain that to the players but we have experience of being like that [tired] from last season when we played midweek.’