'No help' & 'no confidence' - What is behind Hojlund's goal drought?

Another atrocious effect for Manchester United and different crippled without a extremity from their misfiring forwards.

United's penalty-shootout nonaccomplishment to Fulham successful the FA Cup was the 18th consecutive crippled successful which Rasmus Hojlund has failed to people since netting a treble against Viktoria Plzen successful the Europa League connected 12 December.

During that clip Joshua Zirkzee has besides managed conscionable 1 extremity successful 16 games for a United broadside that has toiled successful the last 3rd of the pitch.

And with United chasing an equaliser against the Cottagers, it was the Denmark planetary - signed from Atalanta successful a woody worthy up to £72m successful 2023 - that made mode for teen Chido Obi.

Hojlund, 22, managed conscionable 1 changeable - and that went wide of the adjacent station from Christian Eriksen's transverse - connected an day erstwhile helium struggled to person an impact.

Zirkzee, 23, besides lone had 1 effort connected extremity - a flick that besides missed the people – portion 17-year-old Obi had 3 and forced Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno into an outstanding absorption save.

So, with Hojlund's signifier different origin of interest astatine a nine dealing with galore issues connected and disconnected the pitch, BBC Sport look astatine United's attacking shortcomings.

United manager Ruben Amorim precocious blamed a deficiency of service for Hojlund's barren tally successful beforehand of goal.

And their options successful that respect person been diminished with Amad Diallo retired injured, the out-of-favour Marcus Rashford shipped retired to Aston Villa connected indebtedness and Antony present astatine Real Betis until the extremity of the season.

During February, determination was adjacent a comical concern erstwhile the Brazil winger had scored much goals for the La Liga broadside (three) than United's players had betwixt them astatine that constituent successful the month.

Yet Amorim is successful power of the unit and tactics and determination were noticeable frustrations stirring astir Old Trafford adjacent earlier kick-off connected Sunday erstwhile Alejandro Garnacho was near connected the bench.

Until his instauration successful the 53rd minute, United's Noussair Mazraoui and Diogo Dalot - 2 full-backs playing successful wing-back roles - had struggled to supply immoderate benignant of attacking menace whatsoever.

When the Argentina winger came connected the dynamic of the lucifer shifted, United played with much intent and had six shots connected people successful the 2nd fractional compared to 2 earlier the break.

Garnacho was besides progressive successful Bruno Fernandes' equaliser arsenic United yet got players forward, dissimilar the archetypal play wherever Zirkzee and Hojlund lacked support.

"I deliberation United play excessively slow, the shot velocity is excessively dilatory and for the centre-forwards they are conscionable waiting around," said erstwhile United skipper Wayne Rooney connected BBC Match of the Day.

"Sometimes I made mistakes and had a atrocious crippled but I had bully players astir me. Hojlund is getting nary help. He's having to effort to clasp the shot and usage his body. He is making runs and is consenting but is simply a small isolated.

"Not conscionable Hojlund but Joshua Zirkzee has fixed up the shot excessively galore times. There is not capable creativity and they are not holding up the shot for the midfielders and defenders to enactment them, truthful it's a spot of both."

Hojlund had to hold until 26 December for his archetypal Premier League extremity past term.

But that prompted a purple spot of 8 goals successful 8 games, with an injury-interrupted archetypal play astatine the nine ending with 16 goals successful 43 matches.

However, helium has lone managed 7 successful 35 fixtures successful each competitions this word and that drop-off appears nary astonishment fixed helium has averaged 1.5 shots per crippled implicit the people of the play portion making conscionable 3.5 touches connected mean successful an opponent's punishment area.

Garnacho (8.4), Diallo (7.3), Rashford (5.1) and Zirkzee (4.7) person each had much touches successful the absorption container than the Dane.

That aforesaid quartet positive Bruno Fernandes and Casemiro besides mean much shots connected extremity than Hojlund, who registered 12 goals successful 21 appearances for Sturm Graz and different 10 successful 34 games successful Italy.

Those figures besides look woefully debased erstwhile you see that Liverpool's Mohamed Salah and Luis Diaz had 16 touches betwixt them successful the Manchester City punishment country successful their Premier League triumph conscionable implicit a week ago.

Obi besides managed six against Fulham successful six minutes little and different origin for interest is that Hojlund's numbers person dropped since 19 December to 1.3 and 3.1.

Chris Sutton, who won the Golden Boot arsenic joint-top Premier League goalscorer erstwhile helium was with Blackburn successful 1997-98 tin subordinate to Hojlund's experience, having endured a miserable spell erstwhile astatine Chelsea wherever helium went 21 games without a goal.

"The archetypal happening I see erstwhile immoderate striker is being criticised is whether helium is getting loads of chances? I'm not truthful definite Hojlund is," Sutton told BBC Sport.

"He is suffering, arsenic a batch of strikers do, from that chronic deficiency of assurance which leads to a deficiency of content and hesitancy. When strikers spell connected runs similar the 1 helium is on, it plays connected your mind. It is astir apt affecting each his game, not conscionable successful beforehand of goal, and the longer it goes connected the worse it gets.

"Is the effort there? Yes, absolutely. Could helium beryllium doing better? Of people helium could beryllium but you could accidental that astir virtually each Manchester United player.

"You person to retrieve that United are not conscionable under-performing a small bit, they are miles disconnected it. There is an statement that, nether Ruben Amorim, they person got worse than they were nether Erik 10 Hag.

"His contented astatine United is that, arsenic good arsenic trying to find immoderate form, each strikers are reliant connected work and helium is not getting much."

Chief shot quality reporter, Simon Stone

Hojlund's valuation jumped up a immense magnitude successful a precise abbreviated abstraction of clip with moves from Copenhagen to Sturm Graz and past Atalanta.

And adjacent though his extremity grounds was not exceptional, comparisons were drawn astatine the clip with chap Scandinavian guardant Erling Haaland owed to the size, spot and velocity of some players.

While United were convinced of his imaginable to make into a top-class centre-forward, helium has not fulfilled that and though helium has shown glimpses of his finishing power, his assurance present looks shattered.

He ne'er looked similar getting successful a presumption to people against Fulham and is not the benignant of guardant that drops deeper and gets progressive successful the build-up play.

The Dane was besides not helped by Garnacho being named arsenic a substitute fixed helium seems to beryllium the 1 subordinate successful the existent squad that tin agelong a crippled and supply immoderate support.