0.97 g/a per90 

©TM/IMAGO

Manchester United’s problems this season have been boundless but their profligacy in front of goal has been painful. Only the three relegated Premier League sides and Everton have scored fewer than United’s 39 goals in England’s top-flight. United have struggled to create chances in abundance but their attackers have also been woefully sub-par all campaign. 

There was huge excitement over Rasmus Højlund’s arrival at Old Trafford in 2023 but after a promising twelve months, the Denmark international’s performances have nosedived. United massively overpaid for Højlund, banking on his potential to the tune of €77.8 million and the 22-year-old has struggled to deal with the expectation and looked bereft of confidence. Ruben Amorim wants to sign a new striker this summer and it’s been widely reported that Højlund could depart, but he will be tasked with firing United to Europa League glory as he represents their only fit senior striker.

Rasmus Højlund’s domestic vs European form compared

United are woefully short in attacking areas, especially after allowing Marcus Rashford and Antony to depart in January without bringing in a replacement. Amorim admitted not signing a new striker was a ‘risk’ and it was exasperated with Joshua Zirkzee sustaining a season-ending injury, while youngster Chido Obi is ineligible in Europe. Højlund is United’s only available striker for the season-defining Europa League semi-final against Athletic Club and Amorim has backed him to perform. Speaking pre-match, Amorim said: “He is working really hard. Some of the goals that we scored, especially in this competition, he has been really important with his movement. I think he is in a good moment and in a good spirit to play a great game.”

Højlund ended a seven-game drought without a goal by scoring United’s equaliser against Bournemouth on Sunday. The Danish striker previously went 21 games without scoring earlier in the season before netting against Leicester but the contrast between his output in domestic games compared to the Europa League is startling. As the graphic below illustrates, Højlund has scored more goals (5) in Europe this season than across English competitions (4), despite playing almost three times as many minutes.

The United striker has scored 0.17 goals per90 in domestic games – Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup – but that jumps up to 0.6 goals per 90 in the Europa League. Højlund has also provided more assists (3) in Europe than domestically (1) and his overall attacking numbers in the Europa League should be pretty encouraging for United fans. Højlund has registered 0.97 goal contributions per90 in Europe, which is four times higher than his record in English football (0.22) this season. The standard of the Premier League is higher than the Europa League and Bilbao will face a tough test for United. But although Højlund hasn’t scored in his last six European games, United will need their only striker to step up when the stakes couldn’t be higher in the semi-finals.