Manchester United: Rasmus Hojlund admits 'envious' comments impacted him amid struggle for Premier League goal
Rasmus Hojlund has revealed his struggles during a long wait for a Premier League goal, before he was finally able to “shut people up”.
The striker, who joined Manchester United for £72million from Atalanta in the summer, did not get off the mark until his 15th League appearance, when he scored a late winner against Aston Villa in December.
That was the start of a record-breaking run, as Hojlund became the youngest player to score in six Premier League matches in a row after netting a brace against Luton.
Reflecting on his left-footed strike against Villa, Hojlund revealed the relief he felt.
“There I thought: ‘Finally!’ It was great to shut people up,” Hojlund told TV2 Sport.
The 21-year-old had by that point already scored five goals in the Champions League, though that was not enough to prevent United being knocked out of Europe by Christmas.
While Hojlund has now found form at Old Trafford to ensure there is little criticism aimed in his direction, the Danish forward was left frustrated at the level of attention on his bid to break his Premier League duck.
“Of course, it bothered me a bit that people kept talking about this Premier League goal that hadn’t been scored, whereas not many people were talking about the fact that I was top scorer in the Champions League at the same time,” Hojlund said.
“I couldn’t quite get my head round that, so it was even nicer to change that 0 to 1.”
Having initially been impacted by negative comments from those Hojlund describes as “envious”, the United star has cut down on his social media use in the build-up to matches.
“I could feel the support from day one, but it’s clear that there are many who want to see you down because you’ve reached the level you’ve reached, and there are many who may be envious,” Hojlund said.
“There have been many positive comments, but there have also been some negative ones that I’ve had to sort through. At first, it was a bit difficult to distinguish between one and the other. I’m from a generation where mobile and social media are read an insane amount.
“I quickly realised that you rarely get anything out of either the good or the bad, so I quickly decided to put it away before a match.”