Why Erik ten Hag substituted Rasmus Højlund vs West Ham for Manchester United

Erik ten Hag substituted Rasmus Højlund after 57 minutes as Manchester United lost 2-0 against West Ham on Saturday afternoon.

Rasmus Højlund failed to score in his 14th Premier League appearance this season as Manchester United fell to a 2-0 defeat against West Ham.

Erik ten Hag‘s men now sit eighth in the league table and could find themselves eight points off the top four at the close of play this weekend, with a lack of goals a big problem.

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Rasmus Højlund, who started the game up front for United, failed to register a single shot during his hour on the field.

He was taken off after 57 minutes, but Ten Hag has now explained that he was substituted due to illness during the week leading up to the fixture.

“I think he’s a very strong character, and he can deal with the stress,” Ten Hag said at full-time. “I took him off as he was ill during the week, so a little bit lack of power, so in that sense, I protected him.

“We have to play two more games this week, but we can’t feel sorry for ourselves, no one. We have to take responsibility. If you are playing for Manchester United, we have to do it together, and everyone has to be accountable and take responsibility.”

Højlund started up front with Antony and Alejandro Garnacho on either flank, but during his time on the field, the two wingers only passed to him once – a damming statistic that shows where a large amount of his goal struggles have come from.