‘No conviction about him’: Utd superb, but one Red’s continued lacklustre showings are ringing alarm bells

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·6 Januari 2025

‘No conviction about him’: Utd superb, but one Red’s continued lacklustre showings are ringing alarm bells

Almost every Manchester United player could leave the Anfield turf with their head held high yesterday, but one Red is enduring a particularly lacklustre run of form.

Rasmus Hojlund has now gone almost four weeks without a Premier League goal for the club, with his last contribution coming in the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest on December 7.

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He was given the nod for last night’s high-stakes affair on Merseyside and featured for 86 minutes, yet was unable to make any impact on the game or trouble Alisson Becker. Just moments before the interval, when the scoreline was still tied at 0-0, Hojlund was played in down the left flank before finding himself one-on-one with the Brazilian shot-stopper.

The forward struck a tame effort – akin to a chance he had at the same end last term – and saw his shot swiftly collected by Alisson, blowing a pivotal opportunity to break the deadlock on the brink of half time.

Hojlund still lacking the clinicality required of him

(Photo courtesy of ViaPlay)

Reacting to the phase of play on X/Twitter, Manchester Evening News journalist Samuel Luckhurst said: “Hojlund had a great chance here (Anfield) last season, and that was another. No conviction about him when he got the ball.”

It’s true, too. You’d struggle to find many United fans that, in that brief moment, were fully convinced that Holjund was putting the ball in the back of the net, as it’s just something they’ve had to grow accustomed to over the last season-and-a-half.

Throughout his time on the pitch, the 21-year-old had only 18 touches in total and one effort on goal. He also won only two out of his five attempted aerial duels, one ground duel and lost possession eight times (Sofascore).

Of course, it’s too early to write off such a young and promising prospect in only his second campaign in England’s top flight. However, you could argue that United should’ve been wiser and acquired a clinical No.9 to start each week while Hojlund watched on from the bench, worked in his shadow and developed his own game in shorter cameos.

The pressure of being the side’s almost sole goal threat is proving too much weight on his inexperienced shoulders.