Amorim sees signs of improvement in Man Utd saviour Hojlund

Ruben Amorim said Rasmus Hojlund is reaping the benefits of playing more near the goal after his double helped Manchester United recover to beat Viktoria Plzen 2-1 in the Europa League.

A dreadful error from Andre Onana led to Matej Vydra opening the scoring in Thursday’s contest at Doosan Arena after 48 minutes.

But Danish striker Hojlund scored twice to earn the three points for the Red Devils and he has now netted five times since Amorim took charge at Old Trafford – four of which have come in Europe.

Speaking to TNT Sports, Amorim said of Hojlund: “He is improving. He is more near the goal now. He knows better the movement he has to do.

“He could score more this evening, but he is scoring, working and controlling the ball better.”

United have now won three, lost two and drawn one of Amorim’s six games in charge with two of their wins coming in the Europa League.

Rasmus to the rescue.#MUFC || #UEL pic.twitter.com/7rwbs8gDy5

— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 12, 2024

Amorim is confident he has seen enough from his side to see signs of progress in the early stages of his tenure.

“We are improving in some details. We controlled the transitions very well,” he added.

“We were aggressive when we lost the ball. We need to spend more time near the opposition goal.”

Amorim felt his side looked particularly strong in the second half, especially with how quickly they moved the ball.

“The speed improved. I told the players we need more movement in front because they have to feel we are a danger

“We changed a little bit of our game and the players from the bench also helped. We improved not just the way we play, but also the speed of the game.

“We improved during the game. We controlled the game in the first half, but without any great chances. We lacked speed and movement and we didn’t control the ball because the pitch was difficult to make the connections with the strikers. Viktoria didn’t have chances either.

“In the second half, we gave a goal away but we reacted well. We pushed the opponents to their own half and we managed to score. The win is important at the moment and it’s good to prepare for the next game.”