- Manchester United beat Fulham 1-0 in their Premier League opener on Friday
- Joshua Zirkzee scored the winning goal on his debut after joining from Bologna
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Joshua Zirkzee admitted there was a sense of “relief” and the moment “is right” after his debut goal gave Manchester United three points against Fulham on Friday night.
“On your debut, to win and score at the Stretford End is unbelievable,” said Zirkzee, who came off the bench to score the 87th-minute winner at Old Trafford.
“This moment is the best of all. It’s just a bit below winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich and my debut for the national team. I watched the replay and it didn’t seem so bad. First game, first goal, it’s always a relief to get that out of the way, but now it’s time to move on,” he added.
The 23-year-old Dutch striker, signed last month from Bologna for £36.5m, made an immediate impact. Of his 12 touches, only one was in the opposition box, but that was the decisive moment of the match as he fired a precise shot past Bernd Leno.
“I’m not going to talk about myself like that (as a natural goalscorer), but it was a nice touch,” Zirkzee admitted.
Joshua Zirkzee admitted there was a sense of “relief” and the moment “is right” after his debut goal gave Manchester United three points against Fulham on Friday night.
Zirkzee, who joined United from Bologna this summer, scored the winner after coming on.
“My role is probably the one that suits the team best. I’m a striker who feels comfortable coming into the defensive zone and helping the team play football, so it doesn’t really matter. That’s how I played in Italy (at Bologna) and during my few years at Anderlecht, so it’s always an option.”
And Zirkzee praised the impact of his Dutch idol and now assistant coach Ruud van Nistelrooy at United.
“Some people might be crazy, but for me this is the biggest club in the world, so it wasn’t a difficult choice (to come here),” Zirkzee said.
“It’s a privilege to have someone like that (Van Nistelrooy). As a striker, it’s not every day you get someone you grew up watching play, but everyone in the team so far has been great and I really enjoy working with these people. It’s not just him, but it’s obviously an extra privilege,” he added.
Both Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui also made their debuts for Erik ten Hag’s side and Zirkzee was full of praise for Mazraoui, who played 81 minutes before replacing De Ligt.
Zirkzee praised the impact of fellow Dutchman and United first-team coach Ruud van Nistelrooy
Zirkzee also praised Noussair Mazraoui, who also made his debut on Friday.
“He (Mazraoui) arrived this week and it is not easy to come into a team and play straight away like he did,” he said.
“I think everything looked natural and that was the most special part of his game. But that’s who he is as a player. He’s there to do his job and perform to the best of his ability and I think he did a very good job, not just because he’s my friend.”
Asked what kind of person he is outside of football, Zirkzee said: “I don’t really do much, I have my dog, I take him for a walk and I sit at home watching a TV show, playing PlayStation or whatever. At the moment, I’ve just finished The Umbrella Academy and it didn’t have a great ending, but I enjoyed it, it was good.”
