Joshua Zirkzee has taken on Manchester United fans, but only the fair weather ones.
The Dutch striker was out of action at Old Trafford, and got to witness a number of supporters make the one of the worst decisions of their lives.
United faced Lyon at home in the quarter-finals of the Europa League and were cruising 2-0 up before the visitors hit back with four-straight goals, two of which came in extra time.
Predicting it was game over amid a season from hell, a number of fans headed for the exit doors.
However, in one of the most magical nights The Theatre of Dreams has seen, United scored three goals in six minutes to equalise and win moments before an impending penalty shoot-out with the much-maligned Harry Maguire bagging the decider.
Winning 5-4 on the night, the crowd, players, staff and coaches all lost their minds, and so did those outside of the stadium, but for very different reasons.
Calling them out for their perceived disloyalty, the injured Zirkzee posted the stadium’s atmosphere on Instagram and wrote: “To all the fans who left when we were down, have a listen to this.”
The striker played his part in his team reaching the semi-finals, scoring in the first leg for an aggregate scoreline of 7-6.
It’s also not the first time he’s had a run in with supporters at United, as he was booed off against Newcastle in December.
Zirkzee was taken off in the 32nd minute of that match with Newcastle 2-0 up and he took the brunt of the anger.
Signed from Bologna in the summer for £36.5million, the 23-year-old hasn’t had the best time in a United shirt, but has popped up with a few key goals, particularly in Europe.
However, he’s still only managed just seven in 48 games to put him fifth on Ruben Amorim’s scoring charts.
@zirkzeeZirkzee had a clear message for those that left early[/caption]
That number won’t be added to either, with Zirkzee out for the rest of the season.
Taken off in a 4-1 defeat to Newcastle last time out that made it United’s worst ever Premier League season, Amorim later confirmed a hamstring injury.
“Joshua is out for the season, so he’s not going to play more this season,” he said. “Let’s prepare him for the next one.
“It’s tough, especially in this moment. I think he’s improving in all aspects of the game, so it’s hard for any player to stop, but this is football and he has to be ready now to recover.”
