Why Zirkzee’s Premier League debut winner was a rarity

Joshua Zirkzee made an instant impression on Friday night with his debut goal, off the bench, enough to defeat Fulham at Old Trafford.

Only one other player has previously grabbed winners in their first appearance, when coming in the Premier League, which perhaps illustrates just what an achievement it was when the Netherlands international steered home Alejandro Garnacho’s cross, late on in the opening fixture.

A number of Reds have marked their competitive debuts with a winning strike, including Zlatan Ibrahimovic, while others have marked their league bow with the decisive effort.

Current first-team coach Ruud van Nistelrooy is among those to do so, against Fulham, but he had already played, and naturally netted, in the Community Shield defeat to Liverpool.

However, in terms of marking a maiden outing with a winner in the division, the only man to have done it previously was Federico Macheda.

Joshua Zirkzee brings Old Trafford to its feet with the winner against Fulham.

The Italian’s famous curler against Aston Villa produced one of the great moments at the Theatre of Dreams. As Sir Alex Ferguson’s side battled it out with Liverpool in a bid to win the 2008/09 title, an entertaining encounter with the Midlanders was in the balance at 2-2, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring both goals.

It needed a late Fergie-time winner, and Kiko came off the bench to oblige in dramatic circumstances.

The youngster, barely known to much of the crowd after only just having made his mark in the Reserves, fired past Brad Friedel to spark chaotic scenes, on and off the pitch.

James Wilson scored twice in a 3-1 win over Hull City on his senior bow, in 2014, but Robin van Persie bagged the final effort in a 3-1 victory.

Antony, Daniel James, Joshua Harrop, Anthony Martial, Alex Buttner and Nick Powell scored in more convincing victories when their debut came in the Premier League but Zirkzee’s contribution was clearly a rare one.

We will never forget the euphoria of Federico Macheda’s winner against Aston Villa.

Even when looking further back, before the Premier League started in 1992, it is very difficult to find somebody who fits the criteria of scoring on their first-ever outing for United, in a Division One game.

You have to go all the way back to Leonard Banbury, who notched the only goal of the game at Chelsea in January 1939!