“I feel sorry for the lad” – Liverpool legend defends young star who’s hampered by ‘awful’ Man United



Michael Owen identifies the Manchester United star who is paying the price for the club’s abysmal attacking play.

The Red Devils have been shambolic as of late, somehow managing to further regress while under the guidance of Ruben Amorim who is enduring the worst start of a managerial career at Old Trafford since 1932.

On Boxing Day, United extended their miserable run to three defeats in a row across all competitions, as the Wolves took full advantage of Bruno Fernandes’ dismissal to poach a 2-0 victory in front of their delighted supporters at the Molineux.

For his part, Rasmus Hojlund was entrusted with leading the line for the Red Devils, but he hardly made himself noticed. The Dane was left starving for service as his teammates struggled to forge goal-scoring opportunities.

Owen explains Hojlund’s difficult role at Man United

Rasmus Hojlund lining up against Spain (Photo by Stuart Franklin/Getty Images)

Therefore, Owen jumped to the 21-year-old’s defense, explaining how the team’s miserable play is preventing us from learning much about the Dane’s capabilities.

“They’re absolutely awful going forward, I can’t think of a chance that they had against Wolves,” said the former Liverpool, Real Madrid and Man United striker on Premier League Productions (via the Mirror).

“Hojlund… I feel so sorry for the lad. That first half, six passes he received, four of them from defenders so in other words four of them are probably hopeful, long passes and two passes in the first half from a player who you would want to receive a pass off. And he’s supposed to do something with that.

“I can’t judge him as a player, I don’t know if he’s good or bad, and that’s the most damning thing you could say because after watching him for a year, I just feel as if he’s playing in possibly the hardest position in the Premier League to play in at the moment – centre-forward for Manchester United – I never thought I’d be saying that.” noted Owen.

“Centre-forward for Manchester United used to be the dream for every centre-forward in the world, scoring dozens and dozens of goals, and now it’s a poised chalice. And I never thought I’d be saying that.”

Finally, the retired striker added that Man Utd aren’t terrible at the back, but they must bring more players forward.

“They’re not so bad at the back but I mean they play to defend, they don’t commit everybody forward.”