Ruben Amorim spotted seething on sidelines after what Rasmus Hojlund did against Newcastle United

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Ruben Amorim spent Monday evening shaking his head in disbelief as Manchester United lost to Newcastle.

The Portuguese head coach was unable to put an end to Manchester United’s losing streak in the final game of 2024 with Newcastle United winning 2-0 at Old Trafford.

In what was a terrible start for the Red Devils, Alexander Isak opened the scoring after just four minutes and Joelinton doubled their lead 15 minutes later.

Newcastle could have been out of sight by the time Ruben Amorim was forced to hook Joshua Zirkzee in humiliating fashion. The £36m summer signing headed straight down the tunnel in embarrassment.

At one point Ruben Amorim lay flat on the sidelines in complete disbelief at his side’s performance. It is now the third consecutive game that United have failed to score, and Amorim was not very happy with how Rasmus Hojlund led the line early on.

Why Ruben Amorim was angry at Rasmus Hojlund vs Newcastle

Amorim made a surprise decision to start Hojlund and Zirkzee together on Monday. It turned out to be a failed experiment with Amorim admitting the team was “suffering” early on.

But while there has been a lot said about the Zirkzee substitution, it seems Amorim wasn’t overly pleased with Hojlund either.

As reported by Manchester Evening News, Amorim was “straining his lungs” just six minutes into the match to demand that Hojlund played higher up the pitch and with more intensity.

In one instance before Isak had even opened the scoring, Amorim was visibly frustrated when Hojlund was caught out and easily beaten by Newcastle defender Fabian Schar.

Amorim’s frustration continued in the second half with the above report claiming the United coach “slapped his thighs in anger” when Hojlund lost possession to Schar once again.

How Rasmus Hojlund performed for Man United vs Newcastle

Hojlund still only has two Premier League goals to his name this season, with his latest coming in the 3-2 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the start of December.

It seems Hojlund has become Amorim’s first-choice striker, but he is still yet to totally convince the Portuguese that he is the right option heading forward.

United have been strongly linked to Victor Osimhen as well as Sporting star Viktor Gyokeres. Hojlund has his work cut out if he plans on proving to Amorim that United do not need to splash the cash on a world-class forward.

Hojlund’s stats from the Newcastle clash emphasise just how much he struggled against the Magpies.

Hojlund only managed one shot against Newcastle, failed to complete a single dribble and lost possession 14 times.

He also missed one big chance in the first half when he could have clawed United back into the game only for his shot to veer wide.