Rasmus Hojlund on Sunday made English Premier League history as the Manchester United striker’s brace ensured his side survived a scare from lowly Luton Town in their 2-1 win.
Hojlund became the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games after netting twice in the first seven minutes at Kenilworth Road.
At 21 years, 14 days, Hojlund surpassed Newcastle United midfielder Joe Willock’s previous record set when he was 21 years, 272 days.
Photo: Reuters
Ruud van Nistelrooy scored in 10 successive United top-flight outings in 2003, before Leicester City’s Jamie Vardy beat his Premier league record with 11 in a row in 2015.
After failing to score in his first 14 Premier League appearances following his August move from Atalanta BC, Hojlund has scored eight times in his past eight games in all competitions.
His brace should have put United in complete control, but Luton fought back impressively as Carlton Morris quickly reduced the deficit.
Erik ten Hag’s side were under siege for spells and wasted several chances to kill off fourth-bottom Luton in a tense finale.
Praising Hojlund’s mentality, Ten Hag said: “We recruited him on his character, I knew it was strong.”
“He can really perform under stress and that is something you need from a Man United striker,” he said. “He doesn’t get nervous or lose confidence. He has a lot of confidence and I’m sure he will score even more.”
“I need to say thanks to my teammates and the coach because they have showed me great confidence and kept believing in me,” Hojlund said. “I knew as well that I could score goals, but of course it was annoying I didn’t score in the Premier League.”
Sixth-placed United’s fourth consecutive league victory moved them within five points of fourth-placed Aston Villa in the race to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League.
For long periods during a difficult season, that target has seemed beyond United, but Hojlund’s prolific form has given them renewed hope.
“We are back in the race and we are building momentum. We need to build pressure. Every game is a final to get closer,” Ten Hag said.
With 37 seconds gone, Hojlund intercepted Amari’i Bell’s dreadful back-pass, rounded goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski and slotted into the empty net.
United’s fastest league goal this season was followed by Hojlund’s second in the seventh minute.
When Alejandro Garnacho smashed a volley toward goal from a United corner, the strike hit Hojlund’s chest and deflected into the net.
Earlier, Brighton & Hove Albion pushed Sheffield United closer to relegation as the Premier League’s bottom club capitulated after Mason Holgate’s dismissal in a 5-0 rout at Bramall Lane.
United defender Holgate was sent off early in the first half for an ugly foul on Kaoru Mitoma.
Brighton made the most of Holgate’s exit as Facundo Buonanotte and Danny Welbeck struck in quick succession.
Jack Robinson’s second-half own-goal was followed by Simon Adingra’s late brace, condemning the shambolic Blades to a sixth defeat in their past nine league games.
Chris Wilder’s team are languishing seven points from safety with 13 games left to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.
United’s 65 goals conceded in the Premier League this season are the most ever by a side in their first 25 matches in the competition.
“Mason has to take the responsibility that his decision has hurt us and the game plan goes out of the window after that,” Wilder said. “You have to get the game plan spot on against Brighton because of what they can do in terms of opening you up. It’s difficult when things like that, which, of course, was self-inflicted, go against you.”
A victory at fellow strugglers Luton last weekend had breathed new life into the Blades’ hopes of avoiding relegation, but they reverted to type with a self-inflicted loss that edged them nearer to the drop.
Brighton were winless in their previous six Premier League away matches, but they had won 5-2 at Bramall Lane in the fourth round of the FA Cup last month and ended their barren stretch on their return to Yorkshire.
Bologna on Thursday advanced past Empoli to reach their first Coppa Italia final in more than half a century. Thijs Dallinga’s 87th-minute header earned Bologna a 2-1 win and his side advanced 5-1 on aggregate. Giovanni Fabbian opened the scoring for Bologna with a header seven minutes in. Then Viktor Kovalenko equalized for Empoli in the 30th minute by turning in a rebound to finish off a counterattack. Bologna won the first leg 3-0. In the May 14 final in Rome, Bologna are to face AC Milan, who eliminated city rivals Inter 4-1 on aggregate following a 3-0 win on Wednesday. Bologna last reached the
If the Wild finally break through and win their first playoff series in a decade, Minnesota’s top line likely will be the reason. They were all over the Golden Knights through the first two games of their NHL Western Conference quarter-finals series, which was 1-1 going back to Minnesota for Game 3 today. The Wild tied the series with a 5-2 win on Tuesday. Matt Boldy had three goals and an assist in the first two games, while Kirill Kaprizov produced two goals and three assists. Joel Eriksson Ek, who centers the line, has yet to get on the scoresheet. “I think the biggest
From a commemorative jersey to a stadium in his name, Argentine soccer organizers are planning a slew of tributes to their late “Captain” Pope Francis, eulogized as the ultimate team player. Tributes to the Argentine pontiff, a lifelong lover of the game, who died on Monday at the age of 88, have been peppered with soccer metaphors in his homeland. “Francisco. What a player,” the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) said, describing the first pope from Latin America and the southern hemisphere as a generational talent who “never hogged the ball” and who showed the world “the importance of having an Argentine captain,
Noelvi Marte on Sunday had seven RBIs and hit his first career grand slam with a drive off infielder Jorge Mateo, while Austin Wynn had a career-high six RBIs as the Cincinnati Reds scored their most runs in 26 years in a 24-2 rout of the Baltimore Orioles. Marte finished with five hits, including his eighth-inning homer off Mateo. Wynn hit a three-run homer in the ninth off catcher Gary Sanchez. Cincinnati scored its most runs since a 24-12 win against the Colorado Rockies on May 19, 1999, and finished with 25 hits. Baltimore allowed its most runs since a 30-3 loss to
RSS