The Red Devils were completely outplayed by the Magpies and after being destroyed for 30 minutes, Ruben Amorim made a decision to make an early change.
Kobbie Mainoo got changed into his kit and warmed up on the touchline before it was announced that he would be replacing Zirkzee, who had lined up on the left.
The summer signing’s withdrawal was met with sarcastic cheers and after a brief handshake with Amorim, the dejected Dutchman grabbed his coat and jogged down the tunnel.
A few minutes later and with the game continuing, the former Bayern Munich man did return to take his place on the bench.
Having slammed the fans’ reaction to Zirkzee going off on commentary for Sky Sports, former United skipper Gary Neville suggested that Zirkzee had been told by a member of staff to get back to the dugout – finding it hard to believe he had merely ran down the tunnel “for a lucozade”.
Neville expresses sympathy for Zirkzee
Zirkzee has struggled since signing for United in a £36.5 million switch from Bologna, scoring just four goals in 25 appearances in all competitions. United supporters quickly ran out of patience with him after a series of frustrating displays but Neville did not like seeing what happened to him.
“I actually feel sorry for Joshua Zirkzee,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“I know he’s earning a lot of money but there is a human being in there that’s basically been cheered off by his own fans. That is brutal. I’ve not seen that too many times in the 43 years I’ve been coming here.”
Not long after Zirkzee returned, Marcus Rashford received a warm applause when he began warming up
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