There have been many opinions offered about Zirkzee since his arrival at Old Trafford, not many of them good.
The Dutch forward has guts – he could not have recovered from the reaction he received from the United supporters when he was substituted after just 33 minutes of the home defeat by Newcastle last December without it.
But his ability has been a talking point. His lack of opportunities this season have led him to believe his future lay elsewhere – a view with added urgency given he has lost his place in the Netherlands squad.
Finally offered an opportunity against Everton because of the injuries that have sidelined Matheus Cunha and Benjamin Sesko, Zirkzee was again poor and few would have been surprised if he had been replaced.
Amorim had other ideas. He remained loyal even after another disappointing 45 minutes and was rewarded with a vicious swerving shot from the striker that had too much pace for former United keeper Henderson as it found the far corner.
It was his first league goal in almost exactly a year and might give all parties pause for thought about his future.
Within nine minutes, the visitors were ahead as Mount profited from quick thinking by Fernandes as Palace waited for a different kind of free-kick.
From there on, it was about game management as United made the most of inevitable Palace tiredness given they had an away game in Europe less than 72 hours earlier.
