JOSHUA ZIRKZEE was left in tears following Man Utd’s heartbreaking exit from the FA Cup.
The Red Devils were forced into a penalty shootout by Fulham, following a 1-1 draw.
And it was the Dutch forward who missed the decisive penalty, as his side crashed out of the cup.
Zirkzee was seen looking emotional on the pitch after the game concluded.
Visibly upset, his own team-mates consoled him.
Fulham’s Alex Iwobi was also seen offering his sympathy to the Netherlands international.
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While manager Ruben Amorim offered him a comforting arm.
Zirkzee was the hero in United’s FA Cup third round tie against Arsenal.
He netted the winning penalty at the Emirates to knock the Gunners out.
However, this time Cottagers keeper Bernd Leno guessed correctly to deny the ex-Bologna man.
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Zirkzee was given his third start in a row by Portuguese tactician Amorim.
Fulham took the lead in the first when Calvin Bassey headed home from a Andreas Pereira corner.
The goal had an eerie similarity to a strike the away team scored in their FA Cup tie from 2023, also at Old Trafford.
However, Bruno Fernandes forced extra time when he rifled a low effort first time past Leno
Neither side could break through in the extra 30 minutes, so it was down to spot kicks to decide the contest.
Victor Lindelof blinked first when his effort was saved by the German shotstopper.
Needing to score to keep his side in it, Zirkzee also saw his shot from 12-yards saved.
Man Utd ratings vs Fulham
MANCHESTER UNITED crashed out the FA Cup on penalties against Fulham.
Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee had poor spot-kicks saved as the Red Devils slipped to their sixth home defeat under Ruben Amorim.
Fulham broke the deadlock on the stroke of half-time with a well-worked corner.
Antonee Robinson darted to the near post and flicked it onto Calvin Bassey who directed his header into the bottom corner brilliantly.
Just as United’s frustrations were brewing, Bruno Fernandes was the saviour yet again.
He picked up Diogo Dalot’s perfect cut back and fired it beyond the stretch of Bernd Leno.
United had chances towards the end of the second-half, with subs Alejandro Garnacho and Chido Obi unable to finish.
There was nothing to separate the sides in extra-time and penalties were needed.
Despite well-taken kicks from Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Casemiro, Lindelof and Zirkzee woefully fired directly at Fulham hero Leno.
But which Man Utd players could hold their heads up and which flopped?
Here, SunSport’s Ken Lawrence reveals his player ratings.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
