Man Utd’s most embarrassing problem highlighted by 22nd minute moment against Ipswich Town, no sign of improvement

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Manchester United showed plenty of character on Wednesday night to beat Ipswich Town with 10 men.

As the rain pelted down at Old Trafford, there were visible signs of life within the Manchester United squad following weeks of sub-par performances.

Ruben Amorim will be delighted, it was the second game running his team have come from behind and faced adversity to claim points.

10-man United beat Ipswich 3-2 which was desperately needed by the Red Devils, after no league win in the last three games.

Bruno Fernandes was United’s star man as all three goals came through his set-pieces. Fernandes was given the assist for Harry Maguire’s goal, while Matthijs de Ligt scored from a rebound.

But the first of the three goals was an own goal, which led to an embarrassing statistic emerging.

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Manchester United have more goals through own goals than strikers in 2025

There have been plenty of negatives this season with United sitting 14th in the league and goals proving very hard to come by.

United’s attack has been misfiring which has prompted a search for a new striker this summer, one in which Victor Osimhen seems to be target number one.

On Wednesday night, the same problems were on show. Rasmus Hojlund was terrible for United in the win – as he became victim to an embarrassing feat.

With Dara O’Shea’s own goal, United have now scored more through own goals than through strikers – Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund – this calendar year after two months.

• Hojlund and Zirkzee combined – 1 goal in 2025
• Own goals – 2 goals in 2025

The other own-goal scored came of course against Rangers when Jack Butland had a nightmare return to Old Trafford. It almost sounds like an impossible stat, and it gets worse for the two senior strikers currently employed by United.

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Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee show no signs of improvements

Goals have been few and far between for the United attacking duo this season with the own-goal statistic quite embarrassing for the forwards.

When comparing the goals scored by the two strikers to Maguire for example, the devastatingly poor goal-scoring record sticks out.

If Hojlund was simply missing chances, there may be faith that he would eventually begin to find the net – but his problems go beyond just scoring.

Hojlund has regressed as a footballer over the past year and with his confidence at an all-time low, the chances of United turning his form around are slim. On the other hand, Zirkzee looks to be growing as a player despite his lack of goals.

It is a real issue for United with so much left to play for this season in the cups, yet any goals look unlikely to come through the centre-forward.