Man Utd opponents on alert after Rasmus Hojlund gets his Premier League season off the ground | OneFootball

The sight of Rasmus Hojlund opening his Premier League account for the season should strike fear into the hearts of Manchester United‘s upcoming opponents.

Hojlund dispatched a lovely chipped finish to give the Red Devils a much-needed 2-1 comeback win at home to Brentford on Saturday, showing supreme confidence for a player who has struggled for fitness and consistency recently.

However, it’s not the manner of Hojlund’s strike that has necessarily caught the eye, but what the goal might mean for his prospects over the next few weeks.

Few will forget how much Hojlund struggled to get off the ground in the Premier League, failing to score in any of his first 14 appearances in the competition despite showing excellent form in the Champions League.

But then he finally found the net to seal a 3-2 comeback win over Aston Villa on Boxing Day and that changed everything, with Hojlund going on to score another six goals in his next five Premier League outings. The Denmark international would suffer another drought of just one goal in eight appearances thereafter before netting each of his last two matches of the campaign in wins over Newcastle United and Brighton.

Hojlund is yet to prove he’s anything more than a ‘patchy’ goalscorer, but if that’s the case, this strike against Brentford could open the floodgates for another purple patch. That may well come at the perfect time, with United juggling Europa League and EFL Cup commitments in upcoming weeks, while after their away double-header against Fenerbahce and West Ham, they have a run of seven of nine fixtures at home across all competitions.

Hojlund makes No.9 statement with winner vs Brentford

Hojlund faces competition for the starting spot this season from summer arrival Joshua Zirkzee. However, the position is up for grabs with the Dutchman only scoring once in 11 appearances for United so far.

What’s more, it’s Hojlund who was handed the No.9 jersey in the summer in a massive show of faith from both the club and manager Erik ten Hag.

“I’m playing for Manchester United, and having the number nine on the back for Manchester United, it’s a good life,” Hojlund said after the Brentford win. “I just tried to focus on that part, and also I could focus on everything else instead. Trying to be even fitter for when I come back, doing my recovery even better. I think I’m in a great spot right now.”

While United will rotate heavily in the upcoming busy period, Hojlund’s goal against Brentford should elevate him as first choice for the big matches over Zirkzee. Ten Hag suggested as much with his post-match compliments of the striker.

“The finish from Rasmus, it was so beautiful. Of course, we’re happy Rasmus is back as we miss his goals,” he said.

The likes of West Ham, Chelsea, Leicester and Ipswich lie in wait in the Premier League for United before the end of November and they’ll all be on high alert after Hojlund got himself off the ground — having also scored in his previous Europa League outing against Porto.

And for United, another goalscoring run from the Dane couldn’t be more welcomed, with the Red Devils still only on seven goals in eight Premier League matches even despite Saturday’s win; a record that simply must improve if they’re to recover from their poor start and challenge for Champions League qualification.