Wilfried Zaha is in good form ahead of his return to Manchester United, having scored a fantastic debut goal for Galatasaray.
After his contract with Crystal Palace ended, the winger joined the Turkish giants on a free transfer in the summer. The 30-year-old had not scored in his first five Galatasaray outings, with his lone prior contribution being an assist in a 2-2 Champions League stalemate against Copenhagen.
That all changed in Saturday’s showdown against Ankaragucu as Zaha finally scored his first goal and it was certainly worth the wait. He received the ball on the left flank and managed to spin the advancing defender.
Zaha then cut inside onto his right foot and unleashed a tremendous effort, giving opposing custodian Bahadir Gungordu no chance. He’ll be hoping to take that form into his return to Old Trafford.
Galatasaray face Manchester United in a Champions League group match on Tuesday evening. Zaha also returns to his previous employers in the game
In January 2013, he became Sir Alex Ferguson’s final signing as manager of the Manchester United, but he remained on loan at Palace. Zaha never played for the Scot, and his first United boss was David Moyes, although the duo never had a connection, according to Neil Warnock.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he said: “I signed him when I went to Crystal Palace. He’s always loved there. I would have liked to see him go to another top club. When he came back to me when I re-signed him. I remember talking to him in the chairman’s office.
“I said to him, ‘Did you get on alright with Sir Alex?’ He said, ‘He never spoke to me once’. He was only a young lad and went there and didn’t get a lot of help.”
Since quitting Old Trafford, Zaha has haunted the Red Devils on a couple of occasions. He scored twice as the Eagles won 3-1 at Old Trafford back during the 2020/21 season.
The wideman then scored the winning goal in a 1-0 home success over United the following campaign. Speaking out on his frustrating period with Mirror Football, Zaha said: “The only frustration was I would have liked to had more of an opportunity to show I was good enough for Manchester United.
“But I feel like that period has pushed me to still be relevant now. There are so many people who have been in those predicaments when they’ve gone to top teams, haven’t had chance to play and when they have left, you just don’t hear of them. That’s what has driven me more to be like the top players.”