Rashford, Zirkzee give a glimpse of what Man United could become under Amorim

MANCHESTER, England — Marcus Rashford has a habit of starting well under Manchester United managers.

He scored in his first Premier League appearance for Louis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruben Amorim. And after two goals in Sunday’s 4-0 win over Everton, it’s now three in two starts for his new Portuguese boss.

“A new coach is always like that,” Amorim said. “But there is so much to improve. He can do so much better. We all have to improve. But it was a great job from the players.”

Rashford is in a different situation than most of his United teammates. While many of them are battling to prove they deserve a spot under Amorim, Rashford, on a lucrative contract worth in excess of £300,000 a week through to 2028, is almost assured of his future at Old Trafford.

In that sense, while the onus is on other players to show they can make it work in Amorim’s new tactical setup, to a certain extent, it will also be down to Amorim to make this work for Rashford.

The England international started as the central striker in Amorim’s first game at Ipswich Town. He was rested for the midweek win over Bodo/Glimt in the Europa League and returned to the team against Everton as one of two inside forwards.

Rashford’s first goal had an element of fortune about it, with his shot striking Jarrad Branthwaite in front of Jordan Pickford and the deflection taking it into the net. The second, though, was Rashford at his best. Direct running, darting movement and an incisive finish.

“We all, as individuals, want to get back to our best and then push to improve so even in the bad moments you are doing the right thing,” Rashford said. “The connection is going to build and grow the more we get used to him. [Amorim] has come in in a busy period, and hopefully the connection keeps building and growing. He’s come in with a great attitude, and it’s passed on to the players.”

For Joshua Zirkzee, however, the challenge is to prove he’s good enough to come along for the ride.

Like Rashford, he scored twice against Everton — his first United goals since finding the net on his debut against Fulham in August. It has been a difficult few months for the Dutchman. There have been questions about the wisdom of signing him from Bologna in the summer and speculation already that he could return to Italy in the January transfer window.

Zirkzee seemed to struggle to understand Amorim’s demands against Ipswich, so there was an element of surprise that he was picked to start against Everton.

If it was a show of blind faith from Amorim, Zirkzee paid it back. His first goal owed much to the unselfishness of Bruno Fernandes, who laid the chance on a plate with Pickford stranded. Zirkzee’s second was similar, although this one was made by Amad, who again excelled in an unfamiliar role at wing-back.

“I need all the players to cope with all the games and [Zirkzee] is one of them,” Amorim said. “I just try to help my players and put them in a good position for their characteristics.

“Josh did a great job. He scored two goals and that’s always important for the confidence. More important than the performance is that he fought in every situation. So it was a good day for him and for our team.”

Rashford and Zirkzee will steal the headlines because of their goals, but it was a result that relied as much on Fernandes’ invention and Amad’s ferocious pressing. Both were excellent as United recorded their biggest league win since beating Leeds United 5-1 in August 2021 under Solskjaer.

Still, Amorim isn’t getting carried away. He has warned United fans that there will be plenty of “suffering” during the early weeks of his reign, and there was a bit of that here.

Everton, who have won just two league games all season, were the better team for large parts of the first half and probably should have been in front by the time Rashford opened the scoring.

“In the first 32 minutes I thought we looked a good outfit, we looked progressive,” Everton manager Sean Dyche said. “We played well and opened them up. One mistake led to another mistake, and before you know it, you’re 2-0 down. We didn’t capitalise on moments. Fair play to them for capitalising on our mistakes.”

Amorim admitted afterward he thought Everton “deserved more,” but there is no getting away from the fact that momentum is building after two wins and a draw from his first three games.

He faces the first real test of his reign against Arsenal at the Emirates on Wednesday. Win that, and he’ll struggle to keep a lid on the excitement.