- Manchester United secured a slender victory after Lisandro Martinez’s goal
- Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee delivered underwhelming performances
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! Why the Arsenal players will be laughing at Mikel Arteta behind his back
Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee‘s struggles during Manchester United‘s 1-0 win over Fulham have been laid bare by a series of damning stats.
United secured a slender victory at Craven Cottage last night after Lisandro Martinez‘s deflected strike, moving them four points off the top half of the table.
But Ruben Amorim‘s side again delivered a blunt display in front of goal with Hojlund and Zirkzee, the club’s two No 9s, failing to test Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Indeed, United as a whole recorded just one shot on target, and four shots in total, across the entire 90 minutes, while also completing fewer passes than the hosts.
Hojlund was given the nod from the off but could not muster up an effort on goal. He managed only 17 touches of the ball, with one of them inside Fulham’s area.
And after he completed only six of his eight passes, the Dane was unsurprisingly hooked by an unimpressed Amorim just shy of the hour mark.
Rasmus Hojlund delivered a quiet display in Manchester United’s 1-0 win over Fulham
Joshua Zirkzee, brought on in the second half, registered zero shots on goal at Craven Cottage
Lisandro Martinez’s deflected strike moved United within four points of the top half of the table
Damningly, Hojlund has now not scored in 36 of his 48 Premier League games for United since joining from Atalanta in a deal worth £72million.
Hojlund was replaced by Zirkzee, a £36.5m summer signing under Erik ten Hag.
Zirkzee has similarly failed to hit the ground running at Old Trafford, having netted just three league goals, and he also registered zero shots at Craven Cottage.
Unlike Hojlund, however, Zirkzee didn’t take a single touch in Fulham’s box. He also managed just five passes all game during an underwhelming second-half cameo.
But, speaking on TNT Sports, Rio Ferdinand singled out Hojlund for criticism and suggested his team-mates would have been angry at his failure to hold up the ball.
‘I would be surprised if Hojlund isn’t getting a few fingers pointed at him,’ said Ferdinand. ‘Hold the ball up. Hojlund is the platform for them to get up the pitch.
‘Manchester United cannot get any good possession around the final third when their number nine is not able to hold the ball up.’
Hojlund and Zirkzee’s goal scoring woes have led to suggestions that Marcus Rashford could be brought back in from the cold.
Hojlund also didn’t muster up a shot on goal and took one touch inside Fulham’s penalty area
Zirkzee has similarly failed to hit to hit the ground running since arriving at Old Trafford
Ruben Amorim has avoided criticising the two strikers despite their blunt performances
Rashford has not appeared for the last 11 games and has so far failed to secure a loan move this month despite holding talks with several interested clubs.
But Amorim is adamant that the forward is still unavailable and last night, the United head coach claimed he would rather select his 63-year-old goalkeeping coach.
‘It’s always the same reason – the training, the way I see a footballer should do in life,’ said Amorim. ‘It’s every day, every detail.
‘If things don’t change, I will not change. It’s the same situation for every player, if you do the maximum and right things we can use every player.
‘You can see on the bench we miss a bit of pace on the bench, but I would put Vital before a player who doesn’t give the maximum every day.’
Asked if the situation will change if Rashford is still at United after deadline day next week, Amorim added: ‘It’s the same situation for every player. If you do the maximum, if you do the right things, we can use every player.’
