Manchester United’s Christian Eriksen equals Euros record no player has reached since 2012

Christian Eriksen got his 2024 European Championships campaign off to a great start, scoring Denmark’s opening goal against Slovenia on Sunday afternoon.

Manchester United duo Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Højlund both started as Denmark faced Slovenia in the opening game of the 2024 European Championships.

It did not take long for the game to kick into life, with Eriksen finishing brilliantly in the 17th minute to open the scoring for his country on his return to the Euros for the first time since his collapse in 2021.

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Højlund was also involved in the goal, winning the throw-in that was quickly taken and driven into the Slovenia area, creating the chance for United’s Dane to score.

Unfortunately, a second-half deflected strike from Erik Janža handed Slovenia a way back into the game, with the two sides ending with a 1-1 stalemate. However, Eriksen can hold his head high after equaling a record that no player has reached in 12 years.

According to Opta, Christian Eriksen was directly involved in 12 shots for Denmark against Slovenia, taking five shots and creating seven chances.

This is the most by a midfielder in a game at the European Championships since Mesut Özil versus Greece in 2012, who also totalled 12.

While Eriksen has not been at his best at United this season, his performance against Slovenia showed that he can still be a brilliant player when the team is built around him.

He will likely be sold this summer, but he will leave Old Trafford having won two trophies at the club–more than at any other of the clubs he played for across Europe’s top five leagues.

“It was a nice timing and a nice goal,” Eriksen said after he was handed the Player of the Match award. “To score a goal and get the tournament started is a good start, personally.”

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