A source inside the Old Trafford tunnel spotted Joshua Zirkzee’s reaction to being substituted during the first half of Manchester United’s Premier League match against Newcastle on Monday.
Zirkzee, 23, was withdrawn during the 33rd-minute of proceedings at Old Trafford with the score at 2-0 to the visitors after Alexander Isak opened the scoring just four minutes in before Joelinton doubled the away side’s advantage on 19 minutes.
The Red Devils were outplayed by Eddie Howe’s side during the first half of the game, and Ruben Amorim made the drastic decision to replace Zirkzee with midfielder Kobbie Mainoo with 12 first-half minutes still to play.
“He had tears in his eyes and had to be brought back,” said journalist Raphael Honigstein, who was reporting for Sky Germany.
Former United captain turned pundit Gary Neville voiced his sympathy for Zirkzee while commentating.
“I actually feel sorry for Joshua Zirkzee,” Neville said on Sky Sports.
“I know that he’s earning a lot of money, but there’s a human being in there that’s basically being cheered off by his own fans.
“That is brutal. I’ve not seen that too many times at Old Trafford in the 43 years I’ve been coming here.”
“He’s had enough and I actually don’t blame him, [it’s] a massive embarrassment,” he added.
“I hope some of the fans down there give him a little something. He hasn’t played well let’s be clear, they’ve all been absolutely awful.”
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