One Manchester United player has come under fire following his performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday afternoon.
Manchester United have suffered yet another Premier League defeat, this time at home to Wolves, bringing it to 15 league defeats this season.
A much changed United side from Thursday’s Europa League comeback saw a debut for centre-back Tyler Fredicson as well as another start for left-back Harry Amass.
Ruben Amorim’s side lost 1-0 following a spectacular 77th-minute free kick from Pablo Sarabia. United didn’t concede many chances but were once again lacklustre up front, only managing two attempts on target.
With the recent academy graduates being praised for their defensive performances, most of the criticism has been levelled at United’s toothless attack.
Højlund comes under fire as xG stat emerges
Rasmus Højlund has once again come under fire due to his lack of output this season. Rob Dawson from ESPN took to social media following Højlund’s replacement for Chido Obi in the 70th minute.
“There’s no lack of effort with Højlund, but his movement and anticipation is so poor for this level. He doesn’t ever seem to understand where he’s supposed to be. Confidence being on the floor obviously doesn’t help either.”
Despite making some good runs and coming close to finishing off a superb cross from Alejandro Garnacho, Hojlund only achieved an xG of 0.07. This is far behind Mason Mount and Bruno Fernandes, who registered 0.49 and 0.40, respectively, which speaks volumes about the player’s display.
Hojlund’s creative play was not much better, ranking 16th in terms of expected assists and 25th for passes completed.
Højlund’s disappointing United season
Hojlund’s performance versus Wolves is just the latest in a season of disappointing matches for the Danish striker.
The 22-year-old has only managed to register three goals in the league this season compared to last season, where he found the back of the net on 10 occasions.
He has been more successful in the Europa League, however, where he’s been involved in seven goals in 12 appearances. It’s been unclear why Højlund has been having such varied success between the two competitions.
United are clearly looking to bring in alternate forward options, as today there have been reports linking Ollie Watkins and Eberechi Eze to the club. It seems likely that if something does not change in Højlund’s performances, he could see himself fall down the pecking order at the club.
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