Peter Schmeichel praises Rasmus Hojlund after Crystal Palace defeat

Peter Schmeichel was complimentary of Rasmus Hojlund’s performance against Crystal Palace on Saturday, despite it being a poor overall showing from Manchester United as they fell to their fourth defeat in seven league matches.

United were extremely poor in a game they should be winning – on paper at least – but ultimately failed to break down Roy Hodgson’s side, losing 1-0. The Reds breezed past Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night.

Then Erik ten Hag made changes on Saturday led to a sudden drop in performance levels. The manager must pinpoint the reason for this and change it soon. We can only move beyond this terrible run by winning football matches.

Rasmus Hojlund was one of few players I thought did the best he could under the circumstances. There was a lack of service due to poor decision making from those around him, who are still getting to grips with having a centre-forward in the team.

Former Manchester United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel seems to agree.

“I would say he was involved in 90% of what was good about the Manchester United side,” Schmeichel told the Premier League’s Goal Rush panel.

“The problem is that the team hasn’t had a real number 9 for a very long time, so it will take time for them to get used to it. He makes the right purchases, he remains patient, but he is not served properly.”

There is a lot of pressure on Hojlund to suddenly become an elite striker. We mustn’t forget he is just 20-years-old, so the premature comparisons to Harry Kane need to stop, even though the Bayern Munich striker was Ten Hag’s primary target in the summer.

Hojlund, in an ideal world, would have come in as back-up to Kane. Just not while we’re owned by the greedy Glazer family.

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