17-touch Manchester United star woeful vs Southampton, Ruben Amorim has a problem to fix

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Rasmus Hojlund had a night to forget against Southampton with his run of games without a goal extending to eight.

Manchester United are taking on relegation-bound Southampton in the Premier League.

Ruben Amorim made three changes to his team that beat Arsenal on penalties in the FA Cup at the weekend, including Andre Onana replacing Altay Bayindir between the sticks.

The United head coach was also forced to make a change at wing-back after Diogo Dalot’s dismissal for two bookable offences at the Emirates Stadium.

This was a game on paper United were expected to win, but they have made hard work of it.

United had a penalty call denied after Kyle Walker-Peters handled the ball inside the box.

Southampton opened the scoring in the first-half thanks to an own goal from Manuel Ugarte, who was replaced after a shoddy display following the interval.

However, Ugarte wasn’t the only United player to perform poorly against Southampton.

Rasmus Hojlund struggles against Southampton

After missing the start of the season due to injury, Rasmus Hojlund has been given plenty of time to reach peak match sharpness and fitness, but he is not scoring enough goals.

United fans want to see Hojlund deliver now.

The Denmark international struggled against Southampton, touching the ball 17 times and completing just eight passes.

Amorim will demand more from his centre-forward, especially in terms of movement off the ball.

• Total shots: 1
• Chances created: 2
• Expected goals (xG): 0.22
• Touches: 17
• Dispossessed: 2
• Duels won: 2
• Duels lost: 8

Hojlund needs to do more if he wants to be United’s main centre-forward for the coming years.

A lacklustre display against Southampton won’t do him any favours as Amorim looks to fix his striker problem.

Ruben Amorim gives opportunity to Joshua Zirkzee

After 53 minutes on the pitch, Amorim decided to take Hojlund off for Joshua Zirkzee.

The Dutchman will get more chances to prove himself if the Dane continues to struggle in front of goal.

Zirkzee is not a goalscorer by any means but the Dutchman has scored more goals in the Premier League than Hojlund this season.

The 23-year-old made a big difference after coming on by showcasing his impressive link-up place, which is something Hojlund was unable to do during his time on the pitch.

Furthermore, Zirkzee touched the ball more times during his cameo than Hojlund.

It remains to be seen who will start up front when United take on Brighton in the Premier League this weekend.