For most of the time against Viktoria Plzen, it is easy to understand why Manchester United were willing to sell most of their players.
However, Rasmus Hojlund looks like a future player at Old Trafford under new head coach Ruben Amorim. The Danish striker came on in the second half at Doosan Arena and helped Man United turn the tables.
Hojlund scored two goals, including the decisive goal in the 88th minute, to help the "Red Devils" win a difficult 2-1 victory and rise to 8th place in the Europa League. Basically, Man United are on the right track but there will be many difficulties for them before the Manchester derby this weekend.
Goalkeeper Andre Onana's form is a particular concern after a mistake that helped Viktoria Plzen take the lead. A few days earlier, the Cameroonian goalkeeper also made mistakes in the 2 goals conceded when Nottingham Forest defeated Man United 3-2 at Old Trafford.
Onana could only feel relieved when Hojlund scored in the last minute. The relief was also Amorim's main emotions after a disappointing night.
"It wasn't a great game but we did some good things and I think we deserved to win. You want to see better things but then you remember, we don't have much time to work.
I think we clearly lacked pace in the first half. I always felt disappointed. I think I will be like that for a while" - the Portuguese strategist said.
Amorim said on his first day at Old Trafford that Man United lost the ball too much. It has been a month and this strategist is still trying to fix the problem. Man United's sluggishness was summarized by Joshua Zirkzee in the match against Viktoria Plzen.
Starting in Man United's 3-man attack, the Dutch striker lost the ball 11 times in the first 30 minutes. By the end of the first half, that number had increased to 16 times. He was substituted in the 61st minute, making a total of 19 losses.
More importantly, Zirkzee is not the only player to make unnecessary mistakes like this for Man United. Personal mistakes are hampering the "Red Devils"' progress under the new coach.
Overall, Hojlund's performance and Man United's fighting spirit to come back from behind are two positive points that Amorim could bring to the Etihad this weekend.
"The important thing is not to give up. It's a great message. At this point, we need to feel something and if we need to fight together for me, it is a very, very good sign" - Amorim added.
