Manchester United’s 2-2 draw with Everton on Saturday saw familiar failings from Ruben Amorim’s side.
The home side raced into a two-goal advantage at Goodison Park and looked in control of proceedings and it needed two fine individual strikes from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte to clinch an unlikely point.
It was another tough afternoon for United’s forward players and Rasmus Hojlund, in particular, who is finding life as Amorim’s number nine extremely difficult at present.
The Dane hasn’t scored a goal in his last 13 Premier League outings and his all round play is leaving a lot to be desired at the top end of the pitch.
However, as relayed by The Mirror, Hojlund was defended on Match of the Day 2 with former Manchester City goalkeeper Joe Hart accusing United’s tactics of being a reason for the striker’s struggles.
“He’s on his own, all the time. They’re asking a recently-turned 22 guy who’s out of form, it looks like they’re just lumping the ball up to him and saying ‘can you score us a goal’. As you say, confidence is low, he’s not offering a lot,” he said.
Hart then critiqued a passage of play where Bruno Fernandes failed to find Hojlund on a United breakaway and feels the chemistry isn’t there between the pair which is helping United’s opponents.
“Great example there of Hojlund wanting to go, not knowing when to go, Fernandes getting his head down. And it just looks so confused. And that gives the opposition so much confidence,” said Hart.
Hojlund’s time at Old Trafford hasn’t done much to suggest he will live up to the £72 million price tag United splashed on him at the start of last season and talks of the club being ready to cut their losses in the summer are growing with each passing week.
Amorim will be desperate to enter his first full season in charge with a striker he believes can lead the line for him, just like Viktor Gyokeres did for him at Sporting CP.
Before then, however, United players must show signs of adapting to his system and Hojlund faces a fight to save his United career, knowing he needs to improve quickly if he is to convince Amorim that he is the man capable of spearheading his attack going forward.
Despite their woeful league form, United are still very much alive the FA Cup and Europa League with the latter providing a route back into the Champions League which would be a minor miracle given the current state of affairs at Old Trafford.
This gives Hojlund a chance to leave his mark on a campaign that has been one to forget for the Danish international and the club as a whole.
Feature image Richard Heathcote via Getty Images
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Conner Botterill
Conner Botterill has been with The Peoples Person for two years. A keen match-going red with degrees in Sport and Journalism and Philosophy and Psychology, Conner still believes he has a chance of making United’s first team through his 5-a-side career.
