Manchester United played out a thrilling 2-2 draw against Olympique Lyonnais in their Europa League first leg quarter-final tie on Thursday.
It was the hosts who took the lead in the 25th minute from an Andre Onana error before Leny Yoro equalised at the stroke of half-time.
Substitute Joshua Zirkzee must have thought he had won the game with his goal in the 88th minute but for yet another Onana error to hand the Ligue 1 side the equaliser with the last kick of the game.
The Cameroonian’s errors will rightly grab all the headlines, especially considering the verbal spat between him and Nemanja Matic in the lead-up to the game.
Hojlund shocking again
It will also mask Rasmus Hojlund from outright criticism but the Dane was equally horrible on Thursday night. He was out on the pitch for 63 minutes and managed a meagre 11 touches of the ball.
Even worse, he completed a paltry two passes in that time. For comparison, goalscorer Zirkzee played for a total of 27 minutes and he had 13 touches of the ball while completing eight passes out of nine.
The former Atalanta star completed a grand total of zero dribbles and won the same number of duels. His Dutch replacement won 50 percent of his duels (all stats via sofacore).
The United No 9 had one shot on target, a tame effort straight at the keeper while the best chance of the first-half fell to him but he fluffed his lines from 10 yards out. Zirkzee made no mistake when the chance fell to him late on.
Worst striker in recent history
Compared to the all-action display put in by Georges Mikautadze at the other end for Lyon, it is clear to see that Amorim must change Hojlund in the summer window.
A lot will depend on the budget but on current evidence, changing the striker and goalkeeper seem to be a necessity. But whether both changes can be carried out in the same window remains to be seen.
Matic had called Onana the worst United keeper in recent history and the shot-stopper certainly played like one. And Hojlund is arguably the worst striker in the club’s recent history.
Starting from the next game against Newcastle, the head coach must drop both from the starting lineup. This simply cannot continue.
Feature image Michael Steele via Getty Images
Follow us on Bluesky: @peoplesperson.bsky.social
Ayantan Chowdhury
Ayantan has worked for 10 years in the Indian sports media industry, writing for the biggest newspapers and websites but his heart was always set on writing about his favourite club. Currently an editor at The Peoples Person. You can follow him on X: @ayantanc_25
