Joshua Zirkzee admits it was an 'unbelievable' moment to score the winner on his Man United debut against Fulham - as the new £36.5m signing hails the impact of Ruud van Nistelrooy

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Joshua Zirkzee admitted there was a sense of ‘relief’ and that the moment ‘ranks right up there’ after his debut goal gave Manchester United three points against Fulham on Friday night.

‘On debut, winning and scoring at the Stretford End is unbelievable’ said Zirkzee, who came off the bench to score an 87th minute winner at Old Trafford. 

‘This moment ranks right up there. It’s just a bit below winning the Champions League with Bayern Munich and my national team debut. I saw the replay and it didn’t look too bad. First game, first goal, it’s always a relief to have that off my shoulders but it goes on now,’ he added.

The 23-year-old Dutch striker signed from Bologna for £36.5m last month and made an instant impact. Of his 12 touches, only one was in the opposition box but that was the match-winning moment as he finished with precision past Bernd Leno.

‘I’m not going to talk about myself like that (as a natural goalscorer) but it was a good touch,’ Zirkzee admitted. 

Joshua Zirkzee admitted there was a sense of ‘relief’ and that the moment ‘ranks right up there’ after his debut goal gave Manchester United three points against Fulham on Friday night

Zirkzee, who joined United from Bologna this summer, scored the winner after coming on

‘My role is probably what works best for the team, I’m a striker that’s comfortable coming in deep and helping the team play football, so it doesn’t really matter. This was my game in Italy (at Bologna) and during my few years at Anderlecht so that’s always an option.’

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Man United 1-0 Fulham: Joshua Zirkzee strikes late on dream debut to secure opening day victory

And Zirkzee hailed the impact of his Dutch idol and now assistant manager Ruud van Nistelrooy at United.

‘Some people might be crazy but for me this is the biggest club in the world so it wasn’t a difficult choice (to come here),’ said Zirkzee. 

‘It’s a privilege to have someone like that (Van Nistelrooy). As a striker, it’s not every day you have someone that you grew up watching but everybody in the staff up to now has been great and I enjoy working with these people a lot. It’s not just him, but obviously it’s an extra privilege.’ he added.

Both Matthijs de Ligt and Noussair Mazraoui also made their debuts for Erik ten Hag’s side and Zirkzee hailed Mazraoui who played 81 minutes before coming off for De Ligt.

Zirkzee hailed the impact of fellow Dutchman and United first team coach Ruud van Nistelrooy

Zirkzee was similarly full of praise for Noussair Mazraoui, who also made his debut on Friday

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‘He (Mazraoui) arrived this week and it’s not easy to come into a team and directly play the way he did,‘ he said. 

‘I think it all looked natural and that was the most special part of his game. But that’s just the player he is. He’s there to do his job and perform the best way he can and I think he did great, not just because he’s my friend.'

Asked what kind of person he is away from football, Zirkzee said: ‘I don’t really do much, I have my dog, I take him for a walk and sit in the house and watch a TV series, play PlayStation or do whatever. At the moment, I’ve just finished The Umbrella Academy and it wasn’t too good of an ending but I enjoyed it, it was good.'