- Rasmus Hojlund has faced challenges receiving adequate service in front of goal at Manchester United.
- Nevertheless, the Danish international has recently scored five goals in his last five games.
The Danish international endured a rough opening period to life in Manchester following his £72million move from Atalanta in the summer.
Despite finding the back of the net in Europe, Hojlund went months without scoring in the league for United – until eventually bagging against Aston Villa in December.
Mail Sport’s Chris Sutton had previously asserted that the Danish striker was hampered by a lack of service at United—a situation that may have since evolved in recent months. Here, with assistance from SofaScore, Mail Sport examines how the Danish international has successfully reversed his fortunes in front of goal.
It’s widely known that one of Hojlund’s primary challenges was the insufficient service he received from his Manchester United teammates up front.
Leading up to the Christmas period, thanks to insights from StatsPerform, we observed that the Danish star received an average of 14.8 passes per 90 minutes from his teammates.
However, since December 25th, it’s apparent that the 21-year-old has been receiving more passes per match than before. Hojlund now averages receiving the ball 15.9 times per match from his Red Devils teammates, having gathered 78 passes from 442 minutes of play. Despite this uptick, the Danish forward still ranks among the bottom-five strikers in terms of passes received per 90 minutes.
Although he receives the ball more frequently, there’s little variation in the halves of the pitch where Hojlund collects the ball, which is understandable given his position as a striker.
Since Christmas, the Dane has gathered 40 passes in the opposition’s half, averaging 8.1 times per match. This mirrors his pre-Christmas average of 8.2.
Despite these statistics, the most crucial one for understanding Hojlund’s improvement in goalscoring form is his analysis of passes received in the penalty area. Before Christmas, he received the ball inside the penalty area only three times, averaging 0.3 times per match.
However, in recent months, Hojlund now receives the ball inside the box 1.2 times per match, contributing significantly to his resurgence in form.
His most recent standout performance occurred during United’s 2-1 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, where he kick-started the scoring with a superb finish.