Manchester United came from behind to beat Brentford at Old Trafford (Picture: Getty)
Rasmus Hojlund played down comparisons to Ruud van Nistelrooy after his exquisite finish earned Manchester United a 2-1 comeback victory over Brentford this weekend.
Ethan Pinnock headed Brentford in front on the stroke of half-time, a goal clouded in controversy given United defender Matthijs de Ligt was being treated for a head injury at the time.
But the Red Devils levelled through a sublime Alejandro Garnacho strike shortly after the break and Hojlund completed the turnaround with a dinked effort over Mark Flekken to take the roof off Old Trafford.
Having missed the start of the season due to a hamstring injury, Hojlund was making only his second start of the Premier League campaign on Saturday.
Erik ten Hag has been keen not to overwork Hojlund and risk further injury and the young striker was replaced by Joshua Zirkzee after scoring what turned out to be United’s winner.
The result saw United rise to 11th in the table and Hojlund greatly enjoyed being back out on the pitch again alongside Marcus Rashford, Alejandro Garnacho and Bruno Fernando, who assisted his 62nd-minute goal.
‘I think all of us from the front clicked very well, he told MUTV.
Fernandes assisted Hojlund with a deft touch in the 62nd minute (Picture: Getty)
‘It was very good to play with Marcus, Alejandro, Bruno and all the lads again from the beginning again at Old Trafford. I’ve really missed it.
‘Obviously, having an injury at the beginning of the season and now being 100 per cent fit is a very good experience.
‘I just try to bring everything I can every time I step onto the pitch, especially here.’
Ten Hag’s men sit 11th in the table after the victory (Picture: Getty)
The forward made a conscious decision ‘not to fight too much’ with Brentford’s defenders and was ‘very pleased’ with the results.
‘I think it was just about trying not to fight too much with the defenders,’ he explained.
‘I had a good situation where I span him and I thought, “You know what?”, and I just kept trying to focus on getting the ball into my feet and play off from there and it worked very well today.
‘I’m very pleased with the team’s and my own performance.’
Ex-United striker Van Nistelrooy joined Ten Hag’s coaching team this summer (Picture: Getty)
On his winning strike, Hojlund added: ‘The goalkeeper does a great job to cover the spaces and then I only really see one opportunity which is to go for the chip into the far corner.
‘I’ve done a lot of work to prepare myself for these sort of moments and it worked out great today.
When told there was a hint of Van Nistelrooy, United’s newly appointed assistant manager, in his finish, Hojlund replied: ‘No! I don’t want to be compared to him.
‘If you want to speak about him, he’s who I am learning off and I’m working very close with him.
‘Obviously, it’s a big, big step for me. Also, I can develop a lot.
‘He’s doing a great job both as [assistant] manager but also helping the team.’
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