17 defeats. That’s the dismal record Manchester United have been on the receiving end of this season.
Despite that, they could still qualify for the Champions League. It’s funny how football all works out, isn’t it?
Just days ago, the Red Devils were celebrating their place in the Europa League final, but things just continue to go from bad to worse on the domestic scene.
Last weekend, they were on the end of a 4-3 defeat at Brentford and despite that win over Bilbao in midweek, they could not carry any momentum in this weekend’s events.
West Ham were the visitors to old Trafford on this occasion and they came away with a 2-0 win, Tomas Soucek and Jarrod Bowen scoring.
United didn’t get on the scoresheet but they really should have. They may have scored seven across their two semi-final legs but in the Premier League, it’s all been rather laboured in the final third.
Why Man United’s attack is struggling
This was never going to be an overnight fix for Ruben Amorim upon replacing Erik ten Hag but not even the former Sporting coach would have expected things to be quite this challenging.
One of the biggest reasons for their lack of potency hasn’t just been the finishing ability of Joshua Zirkzee and Rasmus Hojlund but it could be argued that there’s a lack of creativity and the squad doesn’t possess the right players to get the most out of Amorim’s system.
Patrick Dorgu was signed in January as a wing-back but the manager will need to strengthen significantly in those areas over the summer.
Dorgu
With Amad also injured for the last few months, it’s meant that United have had to rely solely on Bruno Fernandes to carve out goalscoring opportunities. The captain has had a wonderful campaign, registering 38 goal involvements in all competitions, but even his threat has waned in the last several weeks, failing to score a Premier League goal in his last six matches.
So, with Fernandes faltering, they’ve not really had an answer elsewhere. That was all too apparent against West Ham on Sunday.
Yes, the squad may have been fatigued, but it’s evident that, first and foremost, Fernandes doesn’t thrive as well in a deeper position and secondly, that Kobbie Mainoo does not suit this system, playing in one of the central no.10 positions.
He doesn’t score many goals at the best of times and even a re-energised Mason Mount couldn’t expose the Hammers this weekend.
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Hojlund too has struggled, largely due to a lack of service. Truth be told, he should have found the net against Graham Potter’s men, only emphasising the problems Amorim faces in their forward line.
How Hojlund is now becoming Man United’s new Martial
Let’s cast our minds back to the summer of 2015. It’s September and Anthony Martial has just become the most expensive teenager of all time, trading the principality of Monaco for a move to the north west of England in a deal worth £36m.
At the time, he was being billed as one of France’s next great football players. In fact, Martial was rated so highly that one part of the terms in his move involved a Ballon d’Or clause which would see Monaco receive another payment should the forward be named the world’s best player.
Well, it’s safe to say he never even came close to living up to that hype. Martial spent nine years at Old Trafford in a stint where he failed to live up to the immense promise many expected of him.
Across 317 appearances in United red, he did actually score 90 goals which is a pretty impressive record by all accounts.
15 of those came in his debut campaign and there was there was even the 23-goal season of 2019/20 to shout about. However, from that moment onwards, he only bagged another 20 in United colours before departing in 2024. He’s now at AEK Athens in Greece.
There are certain similarities between Hojlund and Martial here. Signed for an enormous fee as a young forward, a ridiculous £72m to be exact, the Dane had a promising first season and could still come good.
He netted 16 goals in his first season at the club, one more than Martial’s opening year, but it does feel as though Hojlund’s United career will also go down as a story of unfulfilled promise.
The simple fact is that despite boasting some impressive attributes, namely a powerful running style and the ability to gallop down the channels, he’s an incredibly frustrating player all the same.
There has certainly been a lack of service for the former Atalanta striker this season but even when given chances, he’s fluffed his lines. That was certainly the case against West Ham on Sunday.
Minutes played
90
Touches
31
Accurate passes
9/15 (60%)
Shots on target
2
Shots off target
4
Expected goals (xG)
1.31
Successful dribbles
0/2
Big chances missed
2
Ground duels won
1/6
Aerial duels won
3/8
Possession lost
13x
In the process of amassing just 31 touches and only completing 60% of his passes, he wasted two glorious chances which rather typified his season.
To his credit, Hojlund busted a gut to get on the end of the first one, but after Amad had played his teammate in, the 20-year-old could only stick the shot straight at the on-rushing Alphonse Areola. The second opportunity was even more glaring.
About three or four yards out, the net was gaping and ready for Hojlund to find the net, only for Areola to race across his line and keep out the shot. It was a remarkable save but it certainly looked easier to score than it did to miss.
The £85k-per-week forward was handed a low 4/10 match rating by Manchester Evening News reporter Samuel Luckhurst as a result, who himself lamented that late effort that Areola denied.
While there are some pretty obvious differences between Hojlund and Martial, notably that the latter did go through a prolific spell, their stories of being signed for a colossal sum of money at a young age bear similarities.
Amorim and Co will just hope he can find more consistency than the Frenchman ever did on English shores.
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1 ByMatt DawsonMay 11, 2025