15 passes, 23 touches: £36.5m Man Utd star sends message to Amorim with Leeds cameo, start him vs Burnley

Manchester United played out a 1-1 draw against Leeds United on the road yesterday.

The Red Devils had the opportunity to close the gap on fourth-placed Liverpool, but were unable to do so at Elland Road.

Brenden Aaronson capitalised on a defensive mishap to open the scoring for the hosts in the 62nd minute.

Matheus Cunha equalised within three minutes after a poor piece of goalkeeping from Lucas Perri.

The Brazilian’s goal came from a brilliant assist from Joshua Zirkzee, who had a lively cameo off the bench.

Aside from his goal contribution, the Dutchman dazzled with his ball control and clever range of distribution.

The £36.5 million signing completed 15 out of 21 passes with nine of those in the opposition half. He managed 23 touches after coming on for Leny Yoro in the 63rd minute.

Zirkzee looked like a player with a point to prove, having been dropped out of the starting XI against Leeds.

Patrick Dorgu started as one of the number 10s yesterday despite the fact that Zirkzee scored earlier in the week.

Zirkzee sent a big message to manager Ruben Amorim with his display and deserves to start against Burnley at Turf Moor.

United have been guilty of dropping points against clubs in the bottom half of the table in the past few weeks.

They have shared the spoils against the likes of Leeds, West Ham United and Wolverhampton Wanderers.

Wednesday’s game is a must-win to keep up with Liverpool in the race for the final Champions League spot.

After Burnley, United have two tough league encounters against Manchester City (home) and Arsenal (away).

A resounding midweek win would provide some momentum ahead of those fixtures, which could make or break the club’s top-four pursuit.

Stats from Sofascore.com

Article written by Sri Aswin .