The weekend proved to be particularly challenging for Manchester United fans, contrasting strongly with the convincing performance of Olympique Lyonnais, who won with mastery against AJ Auxerre. While the Lyons demonstrated a strong grip on the game, the Mancunians suffered a humiliating defeat at Newcastle, winning a score of 4 to 1. This counter-performance led to a relegation of Ruben Amorim’s team to 14th place in the Premier League rankings, putting their European future at risk and forcing them to focus their efforts on the Europa League to hope to retain a place on the European scene next year.

Beyond this bitterly felt result, the situation worsened for Manchester United with the announcement of Joshua Zirkzee’s unavailability. The Dutch striker, evidently affected by muscle discomfort during the game, was forced to give up his place to Rasmus Hojlund in the 55th minute. The concern is now hovering around his injury, as the Portuguese manager pointed out during the press conference, suggesting a prolonged absence for the player.

This loss of Joshua Zirkzee represents a hard blow for the team in the country, especially after the significant contribution he had made, notably by scoring the second goal in the recent match in Decines. The unavailability of this key element complicates the situation in Manchester United, faced with the need to overcome both the sporting difficulties and the challenges of injury management in order to hope to redress the situation and preserve its European ambitions.