Manchester United’s FA Cup defence is over in anti-climactic circumstances, losing to Fulham on penalties after drawing in regular time 1-1.
Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee were the unfortunate ones who missed their penalties in a game that Man Utd arguably should’ve won in regular time.
They missed five big chances to Fulham’s two and created the bulk of opportunities late on despite having an undermanned bench.
The main reason why that happened is that 17-year-old Chido Obi played with conviction that belied his tender age, giving Fulham defenders nightmares after they were all too comfortable facing Rasmus Hojlund.
Chido Obi puts Rasmus Hojlund figure in context
Against Fulham, Chido Obi got his most extended playing time yet as the game went to extra time, leading to him playing 52 minutes.
Obi outshined Hojlund despite playing fewer minutes, impressing so much that Wayne Rooney was all praise for him after the game.
Eye test is one thing, but one particular stat really put it into context, two things at the same time – Hojlund’s struggles in the league and how marked an improvement Obi immediately proved to be.
According to Statman Dave, posting on X, formerly known as Twitter, Obi had three big chances in 52 minutes which is, remarkably, the same amount Hojlund has managed in 22 Premier League games this season!
Obi has weakened main defence of Hojlund
It should be noted that nobody should get carried away based on one performance, but Obi doing this against an extremely physical Fulham side weakens the main defence of Hojlund.
Even Ruben Amorim has defended Hojlund previously, saying that the team just doesn’t create enough for its striker, but Obi’s game put that to shame.
Be it through smart movement in and around the box, or getting on the end of the balls he had no business even contesting for, he created chances for himself.
The man-mountain duo of Joachim Andersen and Calvin Bassey had more trouble handling this 17-year-old buzzing striker than they had with Hojlund.
Despite playing in the same team, Obi showed it’s not always about getting fed tap-ins in the box for a striker, sometimes they can, and should create their own chances.
If nothing else, he should be seen as a genuine alternative for Hojlund going forward to take him out of the firing line.
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