After his impressive outing in the pre-season game against Bournemouth, Ruben Amorim praised the improvement of striker Rasmus Højlund. He scored one and assisted another, even as United are in the market for a new striker, with the names RB Leipzig’s Benjamin Sesko and Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins doing the round.
Thrashing Bournemouth 4-1, a team that beat United over both legs last year, Amorim dwelled on his target’s man outing, “People focus on the goals and we suffer a lot because of the lack of goals. But I think not just the goals, but the way he connects the play. Every time we have to kick the ball, we are kicking the ball when we are more pressed,” Amorim said of Hojlund’s performance. “The ability for him to hold the defender and to connect in the support is helping us a lot to play better. And we are playing better because he is playing better.”
The Dane excelled in hold-up play, made good incisive runs, pressed aggressively, especially the centre backs, and dropped deep when he needed, and most importantly, ruffled the net, which he had struggled last year. He managed just 10 strikes and four assists in a horrible last season. He faced scathing criticism for his wayward finishing as well as dropping back, even though United legend Wayne Rooney had always supported him. “but I’ve got faith in him, I think he’s a good player. He works hard, I think that’s important as well, I think he just needs that goal – once he gets it, they’ll all start going in,” Rooney explained.
He had also pointed out on the lack of service to the 22-year-old. “To be a forward, nine times out of 10, you’re relying on your teammates to give you chances and put the ball in the box or slide balls in behind. Maybe he hasn’t been getting that service of late,” he said.
United’s most prolific goal-scorer also gave him a piece of advice. “As a striker for Manchester United, when you’re not scoring goals, there’s a lot of pressure and a lot of people talking about you, can you do it for Manchester United? I think the best thing to do is simplify it and making the runs into the penalty box is as easy as it comes, you have to make them runs,” Rooney said during an interaction with BBC Football.
“Simplify your game, getting the ball, laying it off, getting in the box, getting the ball out wide, getting into the penalty box – putting yourself in the best position to score goals. If you do that, you will get the chances and you will score goals,” he added.
However, it’s uncertain that striker would turn up for United next season, as there are rumours of the club selling him to boost purchase of new recruits. The manager said as much. “I’m really happy with Rasmus, but I don’t know what is going to happen until the end of the market. The important thing is that Rasmus is scoring goals. He’s connecting really well with the team. He’s improving. Again, I don’t know what is going to happen until the market is closed. We suffered a lot because of the lack of goals last season.”
Story continues below this ad
Overall, Amorim said he was happier with his team’s showing in the pre-season in the US. “More than the results, it’s the way they are playing. I think it’s really important. I think they are playing better also because they are connecting better with each other,” Amorim said. “Not just on the pitch, but off the pitch. I think they are stronger, they are faster. In this moment, of course, it’s pre-season. But you can see the intensity is completely different,” he added.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
