Manchester United’s dismal season took another turn for the worse on Sunday night as Ruben Amorim’s lackluster squad exited the FA Cup following a penalty shoot-out loss to Fulham.
Reliable United star Bruno Fernandes managed to equalize at 1-1, but that was the peak of the night for the players in red.
In fact, the gloomy saga of the once-great club showed no signs of improvement as Joshua Zirkzee’s failed penalty allowed Marco Silva’s Cottagers to secure a thrilling 4-3 victory in the shoot-out.
There were numerous underwhelming performances throughout the match, but once again Rasmus Hojlund provided little contribution upfront for his troubled team as his personal struggles continued.
Hojlund’s performance in numbers v Fulham
Hojlund’s most recent significant contributions for the Red Devils occurred back in December when the Danish forward netted two goals against Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League.
Since that time, he has been stuck in a dry spell, leaving the pitch in the 68th minute of this match without making any meaningful attempts to penetrate the Fulham defense.
In fact, the uninspired United number nine managed to record a mere nine touches in total, being little more than a spectator to the action, and he only succeeded in making two accurate passes before being substituted by his coach.
Amorim can only tolerate the underperforming player for so long, having witnessed another match go by without the 6 foot 3 striker making his presence felt.
But, there was another figure in Amorim’s camp who arguably put in a worse display than Hojlund.
4/10 star demonstrated he’s inadequate for Man United.
Very few individuals could walk away at the conclusion with their heads held high, aside from a couple of promising youngsters who came off the bench late and Bruno Fernandes.
Victor Lindelof, in particular, likely wasn’t smiling at the end of the humiliating Cup elimination, as he had been given a chance to shine off the bench and failed catastrophically.
Ultimately, Zirkzee’s missed penalty would prove to be the decisive factor, but prior to that, Lindelof had already given Fulham a significant boost of confidence by failing to convert his own spot-kick.
Furthermore, throughout the match, the United number two appeared neither comfortable nor confident, with Matthijs de Ligt, who partnered the Swede in defense, needing to remain extra vigilant in case Lindelof found himself exposed.
| Man Utd’s backline vs Fulham | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stat | Onana | De Ligt | Maguire | Lindelof |
| Minutes played | 120 | 120 | 90 | 67 |
| Saves | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Touches | 49 | 73 | 48 | 32 |
| Accurate passes | 20/35 (57%) | 42/50 (80%) | 31/33 (94%) | 22/23 (96%) |
| Clearances | 1 | 9 | 8 | 4 |
| Blocked shots | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Interceptions | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Total tackles | 0 | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Total duels won | 0 | 7/12 | 6/9 | 3/3 |
| Penalties missed | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1x |
| Stats by Sofascore | ||||
De Ligt wasn’t the only standout in defense, as Andre Onana also made crucial saves to keep his team in contention, registering four stops, while Harry Maguire consistently put himself at risk by winning six duels.
In contrast, Lindelof may have found it surprising to be brought on, especially since he hadn’t played since his previous outing against Tottenham Hotspur in the EFL Cup.
He didn’t contribute much to the match aside from his key moment during the penalty shoot-out, with Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst giving him a disappointing rating of 4/10.
Hojlund deserves more opportunities to show what he can do despite his lack of impact, while Lindelof has quickly demonstrated that he should not remain at Man United past the summer.