GOALThe Dutchman showed off his unique skillset at Southampton, and could become a fan favourite with a partner-in-crime up front
Erik ten Hag's job is safe again – for now. Manchester United recovered from their humiliating home defeat to Liverpool by picking up a 3-0 win against Southampton at St Mary's on Saturday, thanks to goals from Matthijs de Ligt, Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, moving up to 10th in the Premier League table in the process.
Rashford and De Ligt grabbed most of the headlines, with the former netting his first goal in 189 days and the latter producing a colossal display at both ends of the pitch to show exactly why United paid £50 million ($66m) to sign him from Bayern Munich. But it was the brilliance of United's second summer recruit from the Netherlands that underpinned the crucial victory.
Joshua Zirkzee was handed only his second start for the club since his £36m ($48m) switch from Bologna, and grabbed the opportunity with both hands. All of United's best attacks went through the 23-year-old as the Saints toiled in vain to pin him down. Zirkzee was also guilty of some wasteful finishing again, but he wasn't signed to be the Red Devils' primary marksman.
For so much of last season, United lacked a creative spark; that's what Zirkzee provides. Rasmus Hojlund will certainly have been rubbing his hands together watching Zirkzee's latest outing because the Dutchman looks like the perfect foil for the Dane, who Ten Hag desperately needs to welcome back from injury heading into a make-or-break run of games…
