Manchester United forward Joshua Zirkzee needed to be consoled by his teammates and Fulham's players after missing a decisive penalty in the FA Cup fifth round on Sunday afternoon.
Calvin Bassey opened the scoring for Fulham on the stroke of half-time, but Bruno Fernandes equalised in the 71st minute with a brilliant left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
Nothing could split the two sides after 120 minutes and penalties were required. Fernandes, Diogo Dalot and Casemiro scored their penalties, but Victor Lindelof and Zirkzee had their efforts saved by goalkeeper Bernd Leno and Fulham progressed to the quarter-finals of the competition.
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Zirkzee's penalty was the decisive spotkick in the shootout and he looked distraught. Fulham defender Bassey embraced Zirkzee, while Willian and Raul Jimenez tried to console him.
It took over a minute-and-a-half for Zirkzee to leave the pitch. He was also consoled by Christian Eriksen and Ruben Amorim, who put an arm around him while he was crouched.
"Sorry to let you down today Reds. Thanks for the incredible support," Zirkzee wrote on Instagram.
Ruben Amorim admitted it wasn't United's day in his press conference. “I think we started quite well with good possession, controlling the game. But we cannot maintain that for all the game," he said.
"Sometimes we drop the lines to feel more comfortable, trying to use the transitions. I think during the game, we create the best chances. Sometimes we didn't control the game with the ball. But in the end, with the penalties, [it] can happen for both sides and today was not our day.”
When asked about Lindelof taking a penalty before Zirkzee, Amorim added: “No, he was really confident to take a shot. He's training really well, scoring in training, so it was an obvious choice.”
United's only hope of winning a trophy this season is the Europa League and they will face Real Sociedad in the first leg of the competition's round of 16 on Thursday evening.
Real Sociedad are ninth in La Liga and lost 4-0 against Barcelona on Sunday afternoon.
