Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim said he could see the anxiety in Rasmus Hojlund’s body when he had chances to score against Real Sociedad. The Dane has now gone 21 games without finding the back of the net, and his latest blank came in a 4-1 win over a side which played the final half-hour a man down.
It certainly wasn’t for the want of trying. Hojlund ran his socks off as the spearhead of United’s front-three, showed a few good flashes of hold-up play and produced a skilful assist for Diogo Dalot in second-half stoppage time. But he couldn’t find the composure he needed when opportunities fell his way, and Amorim believes he could do with one lucky break to loosen him up.
“He just needs to score a goal,” Amorim told TNT Sports. “He is so anxious when the ball is bouncing in the box, you can see it in his body. He is going to score one, he deserves it. Because we play with two No. 10s, we need one player to make runs and push the team. Today, he made a few connections which allowed us to do that.”
United set up to absorb pressure in the 1-1 draw against Arsenal on Sunday, but Amorim took a more adventurous approach against Sociedad, with bodies thrown forward and players given freedom to roam in a victory which sent the hosts through to the Europa League quarter-finals.
Mikel Oyarzabal had United fans thinking it was going to be one of those nights when he put the visitors ahead from the spot inside 10 minutes. But Bruno Fernandes responded with two penalties of his own, before adding a third in the 87th minute and seeing his compatriot, Dalot, fire in at the death.
“It was a complete week,” said Amorim. “We showed a bit of the future, we dealt with the problems of the present. The physicality was there. In this competition we can be the dominant team physically. We are learning about how to win or draw games in different competitions.”
Fernandes was once again the inspiration for United. And ahead of a last-eight tie against Lyon, Amorim says it is about time his team-mates help him win another trophy.
“Sometimes he wants to win too much,” he said. “He goes around different positions and doesn’t trust in his team-mates. But he is always there. He can take set pieces, score penalties, make transitions in the last 15 minutes of the game. It’s perfect for us and we need to help him win titles because he deserves it.”
Content Source: www.express.co.uk