Manchester United icons Rio Ferdinand and Paul Scholes find common ground in their admiration for Rasmus Hojlund’s performance during Wednesday’s 4-3 Champions League loss to Bayern Munich.
Hojlund, who came inches away from securing his second goal in as many starts since his £64 million transfer to Manchester United, finally found the back of the net at the Allianz Arena. His goal injected moments of hope into a wavering United side, but their spirits were quickly dampened when Christian Eriksen’s handball led to a contentious penalty decision.
Scholes, a two-time Champions League winner with United in 1999 and 2008, shared his delight at Hojlund’s breakthrough, stating, “I am really pleased for (Hojlund) to get off the mark. That will do him the world of good. It’s a scrappy goal, I suppose, and it gave United hope.”
The term ‘scrappy’ may indeed describe Hojlund’s goal, but loyal Manchester United fans would argue that their club has yearned for a striker of his caliber for quite some time. His ability to react swiftly to loose balls within the penalty area harkens back to the days of Ruud van Nistelrooy, displaying an uncanny knack for seizing opportunities, akin to a diligent truffle-hunting pig.
While Ferdinand, a former United defender, acknowledges vulnerabilities in the team’s midfield resilience, he, like Scholes, recognizes Hojlund’s immediate impact as a rare bright spot amid a rather overcast sky.
As they prepare to face Burnley in the upcoming weekend, a team with just one point to their name, Manchester United hopes to turn the tide and put an end to their current string of losses, their longest since Federico Macheda’s memorable intervention in Sir Alex Ferguson’s title quest back in 2009.