Manchester United duo Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund were both involved for Denmark in their Nations League clash against Serbia.
Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund ended their international break with a 0-0 draw against Serbia on Monday evening and will now return to Carrington to meet new head coach Ruben Amorim.
Ruben Amorim only had 11 senior players involved in his first training session on Monday, with 14 United stars currently away on international duty.
The good news for Amorim and United is that Eriksen and Hojlund both avoided injuries while away with Denmark, but they didn’t exactly build up any form.
The Denmark manager jumped to defend Hojlund after he endured a difficult evening up front against Spain last week. Eriksen also started that match but the United duo were both taken off in the second half.
How Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund fared vs Serbia
Denmark secured a second-placed finish in their Nations League group, but they didn’t exactly thrill supporters with their performance on Monday evening.
Serbia dominated much of the match, taking 22 shots to Denmark’s eight.
Eriksen started and captained Denmark but was unable to have much of an impact on the match from midfield. He ended the match with 57 touches and a passing accuracy of only 72 percent.
As his contract ticks down, Eriksen is facing a ‘crucial’ six weeks at United to convince club chiefs that he deserves a new deal.
As for Hojlund, he lost his starting spot after the 2-1 defeat to Spain but came on as a substitute for the final 20 minutes. He showed no lack of effort to get involved but only made 16 touches and failed to have a shot before the full-time whistle.
Ineos have identified Hojlund as a player who can “thrive” under Amorim, but the Portuguese’s first challenge is to build his confidence back up.
What Danish media have said about Christian Eriksen and Rasmus Hojlund
It was a fairly forgettable performance from Denmark, with goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel hogging the headlines after keeping a clean sheet with six saves.
Danish media were quick to react to the performance and it’s fair to say they were not overly impressed by Eriksen or Hojlund.
Tipsbladet gave Eriksen a 2/5 rating and added: “The Danish star is usually the link, but when Eriksen, who had the captain’s armband in the match, starts to throw the ball over the touchline, it is not good.”
They chose not to rate Hojlund after he only made a late cameo.
Danish outlet Bold only rated Eriksen 4/10 and added: “Because… it was close to being expensive when he made a huge mistake in the second half. He wore the captain’s armband as a substitute and there was no doubt that he was trying to take responsibility.”
Hojlund was rated even lower at 3/10 and his goal drought was brought up: “It was not in this match that he had to break his goal drought either. Brought on after 70 and didn’t manage to make a big deal.”
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