Manchester United’s Europa League final curse continued as Tottenham Hotspur got the better of them 1-0 in Bilbao on Wednesday.
The Red Devils have been solid when it comes to facing European teams, but as soon as they face a Premier League side, their confidence tends to evaporate, and that was once again the case on Wednesday.
And Ruben Amorim’s bizarre selection calls did not help, with the head coach preferring to start Mason Mount despite Alejandro Garnacho being the team’s most direct attacker.
And Luke Shaw was another disappointment and how he keeps surviving at the club is another mystery.
Rasmus Hojlund poor again
But the biggest problem all season and once again at the San Mames Stadium was Rasmus Hojlund, who started despite his woeful form all season.
The Portuguese tactician should have gone bold and started with a false nine as Joshua Zirkzee was not fit enough to start.
The Dane will point to his header which Micky van de Ven acrobatically cleared off the line but apart from that attempt, which incidentally fell to him because of the goalkeeper’s error, he was nowhere to be seen.
In 71 minutes, Rasmus Hojlund managed to complete five passes in 71 minutes. In 19 minutes, Joshua Zirkzee completed three passes, while Alejandro Garnacho completed 11.
Rasmus Hojlund should be sold
Once again, the 22-year-old failed to hold up the ball, and he lost 55 percent of all his duels.
The Denmark international managed 0 dribbles, 0 crosses, 0 long balls, while losing possession four times (all stats via sofascore).
He should be nowhere near the club but the fact that he is starting the club’s biggest game of the season shows what a huge task Amorim has on his hands.
INEOS should move him on in the summer but whether any club offer decent money for him remains to be seen. A loan exit could be the only possible solution.
Feature image Justin Setterfield via Getty Images
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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
