Peter Schmeichel has come rushing to the defence of one Manchester United star who has endured a “difficult” period under Red Devils manager Ruben Amorim.
Manchester United languish in 13th place in the Premier League table after Crystal Palace inflicted a 2-0 defeat on the Red Devils on Sunday.
Ruben Amorim’s men performed well in the first half against Crystal Palace, but United were unable to break the deadlock at Old Trafford by half-time.
Jean-Philippe Mateta made the difference for Palace on the weekend and the 27-year-old French striker bagged a brace in the second half against United.
Oliver Glasner’s men climbed above United in the Premier League table after securing all three points at Old Trafford.
United are 14 points adrift from the Premier League top four and Amorim’s side are 12 points clear of the relegation zone amid a disappointing campaign.
Schmeichel speaks out on Man Utd star
Manchester United have managed eight Premier League wins in the 2024-25 season, with Ruben Amorim’s men struggling to build momentum with their league form.
The Red Devils will now switch their attention to the fourth round of the FA Cup on Friday, as United will host Ruud van Nistelrooy’s Leicester City at Old Trafford.
Speaking to Tipsbladet, Peter Schmeichel dropped his two cents on the struggles of United striker Rasmus Hojlund at Old Trafford this season.
Rasmus Hojlund has not scored for United since last December and the 22-year-old Danish forward has only netted seven times in 30 matches in the current campaign.
The Denmark striker isn’t alone with his goalscoring struggles, with summer signing Joshua Zirkzee also coming under heavy criticism over his lack of goalscoring output.
Schmeichel has insisted that fellow Dane Hojlund is a “forward-looking project” for United and there is no doubt “he’s the future” for the Red Devils.
“Manchester United don’t play the way you should play when you have a guy like Hojlund,” he told the Danish magazine.
“It’s been difficult for him, and I think he’s doing fantastically.
“He never gives up, he fights, and he doesn’t let it get to him. For me, there’s no doubt that he’s the future, and for me, there’s no doubt that he’s part of the forward-looking project.
“What has happened this year, he will learn a lot from. This also applies to many other players at Manchester United – that it is a learning period.”
Why Amorim dropped Hojlund for Palace match
Both Rasmus Hojlund and Joshua Zirkzee had to settle for a place on the bench for the Crystal Palace match and Kobbie Mainoo was instead deployed as a false nine.
Kobbie Mainoo impressed in the role in the early stages of the match at Old Trafford, but he struggled to make an impact the longer the Premier League tie continued.
Amorim hooked off the 19-year-old United midfielder and replaced him with Hojlund in the second half, with Zirkzee also coming off the bench for the Red Devils.
Speaking after the Premier League defeat to Palace, the 40-year-old United manager revealed why Hojlund and Zirkzee did not start for the Red Devils.
“Today, we choose to play with Kobbie [Mainoo] to use the characteristics of Kobbie,” he said at his post-match press conference.
“It’s not nothing against Rasmus or Josh. And, sometimes, the team scores goals by creating situations, to use the right characteristics.
“It doesn’t mean if you play with two strikers you are going to score more goals. So, I think it’s a problem for the team and we have spoken about that all the time.
“We need to improve our performance in every aspect of the game, especially scoring goals.”
Receive a digest of our best United content each week direct to your mailbox
