If anybody thought Rasmus Højlund was simply surfing through his Manchester United goal struggles and not letting the situation bother him too much, they are quite mistaken.
The 22-year-old has scored eight goals this season, and given he’s Manchester United’s only real striker, the pressure has been piled on his shoulders.
Last season the Denmark international found the back of the net 16 times and the hope was that he’d kick on from there. Then, when Erik ten Hag departed and was replaced by Ruben Amorim, the fresh hope was that the Portuguese coach could work the same kind of miracles he managed with Viktor Gyökeres at Sporting CP.
That hope is still there and perhaps when Amorim gets the team playing the way he wants, there’ll be more opportunities sent the way of Højlund.
Ahead of Manchester United’s match against Lyon, Højlund has been speaking to Denmark’s version of Disney+ because they have Europa League rights in the country.
His quotes are carried by Ekstra Bladet.
Asked how it felt to go 21 games without a goal, the striker said: “It was a vicious circle. We didn’t play that well as a team, and it also affected me. But I’m not the type to lie down and give up.
“That’s also why I played and started in those games. It’s because I’ve continued to work for the team and on my own game.
“I don’t just sit down and say: ‘It’s great that I haven’t scored in 21 games’. I sit myself down and look at my game to see what I can do better.
“I also stand somewhere and think: ‘Why the hell is it that I can’t score?’ Where is it that it’s going wrong?'”
Since that drought, Højlund has scored for Manchester United against Leicester City, as well as picking up a goal in Denmark’s recent win against Portugal.
Tonight’s big match against Lyon would be an opportune time to score another.
