Joshua Zirkze, who was once derided as a "paramecium", was substituted before half-time and was brought to tears with a deafening boo from the home fans. But through his own efforts, he finally won the recognition of the Red Devils supporters, and gradually sat in the main position.

As we all know, paramecium is a single-celled organism, in the Chinese Internet is a curse word, referring to people lazy, demented, only through simple feelings, not through the brain to think and do things. Zirkze joined United from Bologna for €42.5 million last summer, but the 23-year-old Dutch striker, who initially played in the Premier League with a Serie A style of play, looked out of place, and was notorious for his lack of aggressiveness and unqualified points.

The match against Newcastle United became the darkest moment of Zirkze's career, and before the end of the first half, Amorim opted to replace him, while Old Trafford booed and the Dutchman burst into tears and went straight back to the dressing room. Many have predicted that Zirkze will leave in the January winter transfer window and return to Italy.

However, in the end, Zirkze stayed, and he was not discouraged, and the humiliation of Newcastle eventually became a turning point in his Manchester United career. Since then, his performances have slowly improved, and now he has six goals and two assists, and while the stats are still not ideal, they have at least impressed the fans, and people are starting to praise him.

In the Europa League knockout game against Real Sociedad, Zirkze's low shot from in front of the box made him one of the rare bright spots of a team that has been mediocre this season. Boss Amorim praised him after the game: "Joshua [Zirkze] deserved to score because he played very well. He's improved in a lot of aspects of the game, he's worked hard, so he deserved it and he was really important to us today."

United insiders have confirmed that Zirkze often offers to help coach Carlos Fernandes help him practice shooting at Carrington and is always the last United player to leave the training ground. Although this kind of active training story may not be the truth, and it is a common way for the British media to praise a player who is in excellent form, it is an indisputable fact that Zirkze worked harder than in the past.

Amorim dropped his position back and switched to a number 10 position as a big reason for his awakening, which allowed him to play to his strengths and avoid his weaknesses, Zirkze's shooting ability was not very good, but his passing and receiving ability was perfect for the 343 wide midfield.

Of course, Zirkze still needs to work hard to improve, and the recognition he has now received is only based on a poor start and United's overall slump. The reason why the fireflies are bright is because of the darkness of the night, and the Red Devil is supposed to be a city that never sleeps.

A striker has only scored six goals in 41 games, and the statistic of two goals in the last 17 games is still an unsatisfactory performance among the main strikers of a real giant. Manchester United's midfielder Scott McTominay, who was sold to Napoli in the summer window, has seven goals and four assists for his new club; If anyone doubts that Wheat is playing in Serie A, then don't forget another statistic, he also scored 10 goals at Manchester United last season.

Zirkze's effort and spirit to go from ZERO to HERO this season is commendable, but his ability and performance need to be further improved to reach the level of reviving Manchester United.