Man United need an upgrade on 'smart' star after his performance vs Liverpool

Manchester United surprisingly held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a 2-2 draw at Anfield on Sunday.

There were some standout performers for United in the game, but Rasmus Hojlund was not one of them.

He posed no threat to the Reds’ defence, and on the only occasion he got behind them, he could not beat goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Hojlund could not hold up play properly and failed to assume good goalscoring positions. Unsurprisingly, he has scored just two goals in 15 league outings this season.

He was no match for the Reds’ centre-back pairing of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. He recorded just 18 touches despite playing for 86 minutes.

His only shot was a missed chance towards the end of the first half.

Despite United playing with a low block, they still registered 13 shots. Hojlund recording just one of them is unacceptable.

The Danish international has an abysmal goalscoring record against the so-called ‘Big Six’.

He has scored one goal in 16 appearances against Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City and Arsenal.

United have not created many chances this season, but the underlying numbers prove that Hojlund lacks good positioning, an essential quality for any striker.

The supposedly ‘smart’ forward is averaging 0.21 non-penalty expected goals per 90 minutes in the league this season, ranking fifth in the United squad.

However, his shots have been decisive. Only Marcus Rashford has recorded more goals from his shots than the Danish forward.

Despite this, he cannot score regularly when he does not assume good goalscoring positions.

Man United need a centre forward that will run defences ragged and score consistently. The club must sign a proven striker to solve their goalscoring woes.

Stats from sofascore.com, transfermarkt.com & Fbref.com.

Article written by Henry Thornton .