Joshua Zirkzee has raised an awkward question about Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United

For an hour, it was one of the best games Manchester United has played under Erik ten Hag. At the end of the game, they still hadn’t scored, and they were lucky not to be behind.

United will still find more good than bad in their draw with Crystal Palace over the weekend, but it was scary how quickly they lost steam after changing their strategy after an hour.

After the game, the media was all over the decision to rest Marcus Rashford at Selhurst Park. But the real choice that changed the game was when he replaced Joshua Zirkzee, who had been the key to their exciting attacking play.United finished with 91The 23-year-old was signed in the summer to add more punch to the front line, but he has really shined as a link-up player so far, which makes up for the fact that he isn’t very dangerous in the final third.

Fernandes and Zirkzee have very different approaches. Zirkzee is happy to play a supporting role for other striking players, while Fernandes likes to go it alone.

It’s not meant as an attack on Fernandes, who has often saved the day for United, but it does make you wonder if he will be able to play in Ten Hag’s preferred style of football in the long run. The Portuguese playmaker tries to keep the ball and carefully cut opponents apart, which means he often takes more risks than necessary and can be very different from the changes in strategy his boss is trying to make. When Zirkzee was on the field, they made 21 passes in the closing third. After he was taken off, they only made 17 more in the next 30 minutes. In the end, the Dutchman had 23 touches on the ball and made two chances, one of which was called a “big chance” by the officials.

Since he wasn’t on the field, Fernandes had to link up play, but he missed the ball 34 times against Palace, adding to a pretty bad start to the season. Even though Zirkzee still has a long way to go, they can take early comfort in how well he works as a playmaker in Ten Hag’s scheme.