Ruud van Nistelrooy sets Rasmus Højlund demand with “brilliant” Manchester United compliment

Ruud van Nistelrooy has offered Rasmus Højlund some advice despite claiming the Manchester United star has some “brilliant” attributes.

Manchester United are eager to claim their first Europa League victory of the 2024/25 season as Ruud van Nistelrooy‘s squad prepares to host Greek side PAOK on Thursday evening.

Their campaign has started slowly, with draws against FC Twente (1-1), FC Porto (3-3), and Fenerbahce (1-1), leaving them in 21st place and four points behind the top eight teams that will automatically advance to the knockout stages.

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Although United have found the net five times across these games, defensive frailties have allowed leads to slip in each match, leading to mounting scrutiny over the team’s structure and defensive discipline.

With five matches remaining and arguably their toughest fixtures already behind them, United still have ample opportunity to turn things around.

If they can stabilize their defence and keep focused, a push up the table and a spot in the knockout rounds remain well within reach.

Ruud’s advice to Højlund

When Van Nistelrooy arrived at United as an assistant manager, many were excited at the prospect of the former marksman working with Rasmus Højlund, but due to the Danish international’s injury and the turbulence caused by Erik ten Hag’s sacking, the pair have had limited time together.

However, when speaking with the press on Wednesday afternoon, the Dutch interim boss was asked if he had any specific advice for Højlund.

Van Nistelrooy explained that he feels Højlund must “stay calm and believe in himself,” but he also demanded that Højlund and his teammates start taking their chances in front of goal.

“My advice? Stay calm and believe in himself, believes in his qualities,” he said of Højlund. “Like I do and his team-mates do. He knows he’s young and he’s promising and the daily work he puts in will pay off in the end.

“Not only for him but his team-mates. And I’m confident in that. I mean, most goals are scored in the penalty area, it’s where we want to get our players as much as we can, but it depends on the games.

“There have been games where we’ve arrived many, many times, creating many chances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t convert them all and that cost us a couple of results. But you have to deal with circumstances.”

Further, Ruud explained that Højlund does brilliantly with respect to his third-man positioning and hold-up play, and can change the game at any moment, such as winning a penalty against Chelsea.

“When it’s needed, to hold up play and get players into the third-man position and play on from there, he does a brilliant job [with that] as well. And, of course, he is a guy who can change a game in a second, like with the penalty moment [against Chelsea].

“We just need one or two in the box, and you can be him but it can be the others as well, so that’s a threat we always have.”

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