Michael Owen Rips Into Man Utd Star and Says He 'Can't Watch Him'
Michael Owen says he 'can't watch' a Manchester United star as he ripped into him following their 1-0 defeat to Everton.
Man United's five-game unbeaten streak ended on Monday as Ruben Amorim's side succumbed to 10-man Everton at Old Trafford.
The visitors were reduced to 10 players when Idrissa Gueye slapped his own teammate in a shocking incident.
But Everton opened the scoring after Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall curled home a stunning strike in the 29th minute.
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The Toffees held on for the win as Man United struggled to create many clear-cut openings.
Joshua Zirkzee, who was starting his first game of the season, had his side's best chance as he forced Jordan Pickford into making a great save to deny his header.
Zirkzee played from the start, with Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko unavailable through injuries.
Even though the Dutchman had Man United's best chance of the match, he was largely ineffective and wasn't at the races.
After the result, Owen delivered a stinging assessment of Zirkzee, saying he 'doesn't excite' him.
"I can’t watch him and get excited, I must admit," he told Premier League Productions.
"Cunha missing today was a big blow. He [Zirkzee] was the closest to scoring for Man Utd but they are almost resorting to playing like this with hopeful crosses because he’s in there.
"If you have Cunha playing, a different profile of player, you probably don’t go knocking crosses in all game."
Owen added: "It’s not how Manchester United want to play and I always think if you start lumping the ball it becomes desperation.
"One or two landed on Zirkzee’s head but the way Man Utd are playing prior to tonight, it’s not the right profile of player, he doesn’t excite me at all."
Cunha was expected to start as a false No.9 against Everton but was ruled out after picking up a knock in training.
On Cunha's injury, Amorim said: "It was a knock in training so I don’t know how long he’s going to stay out, I think it’s nothing serious, but we cannot risk players. We have to show everybody, when you are not 100 per cent, we have a different player to cope with the demands of the game."
With Sesko sidelined for three weeks, Amorim will be hoping Cunha is available for Man United's next fixture against Crystal Palace on Sunday.
If Cunha, however, is unavailable, then the Portuguese coach could be forced to start Zirkzee again unless he mixes up his starting XI.
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Topics: Michael Owen, Joshua Zirkzee, Football, Man Utd
Nasir Jabbar