Manchester United were truly awful in the first half against Everton but battled back to claim a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park.
Manchester United fans are still waiting for clear signs of progress under Ruben Amorim.
United were beaten 1-0 at Tottenham Hotspur last weekend and another away defeat appeared to be on the cards.
Everton took a 2-0 lead into the break as United were simply well off the pace, struggling to cope with Beto and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
United at least responded in the second half and snatched a 2-2 draw thanks to goals from Bruno Fernandes and Manuel Ugarte.
This was pretty dire for large parts but United found a result – and Amorim must look to take that into Wednesday’s clash with Ipswich Town.
Rio Ferdinand on Ruben Amorim comments
There won’t be many United fans out there who feel particularly encouraged by Saturday’s performance.
United are still relying on moments of quality rather than strong team performances and still look shaky at the back.
As for the attack, United are still looking toothless and Rasmus Hojlund’s goal drought continues.
That is now 16 games without a goal for Hojlund and just one league goal since Amorim was appointed in November.
The Dane is seriously struggling right now and it’s difficult to see just where the next goal is coming from given that it’s not like he is missing lots of chances – he’s just barely a factor in the game.
Speaking on TNT Sports (22/02, 3pm), former United defender Rio Ferdinand shared his frustrations.
Ferdinand heard Amorim’s post-match comments and suggested that the United boss is showing some ‘stubbornness’ in terms of his approach.
Ferdinand thinks that United should go more direct at times and hit balls into the channel for Hojlund.
The former England star’s damning verdict highlighted that Hojlund didn’t run into the channels even once but urged Amorim to change his approach and attempt to get more out of Hojlund.
“One thing you heard from what he just said there, he said about ‘we’re going to stick to what we do and we’re not going to change things’, and there’s a stubbornness there… which I understand, but I think in today’s game, you watch the game today, when you’re scared and you’ve got not confidence, to keep playing out and playing football, that’s very difficult – even when you’re confident,” said Ferdinand.
“Maybe go back to front a little bit. There are times in games where you can go ‘we’re going to do something different to get us up the pitch, to put Everton on the back foot’. You’ve got Hojlund up front, he never ran into the channel once. The ball isn’t going in there and he’s not running in there,” he added.
Rasmus Hojlund feeling the heat at Manchester United
United invested up to £72million on Hojlund in 2023, luring him away from Atalanta after just one season in Serie A.
This was always going to be a project; Hojlund was just a year removed from playing for Sturm Graz when he joined United.
The jump was a major one but Hojlund still finished last season with 16 goals and showed signs of being a top striker.
Hojlund was supposed to take another step forward this season but he has instead gone backwards and doesn’t even look like scoring.
United still have faith in Hojlund but goals are needed – and other strikers are starting to be linked with moves to Old Trafford.
United want Dusan Vlahovic from Juventus and the pressure is now on Hojlund to step up and score goals – possibly with Amorim’s help in terms of a change of approach.
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
