Hojlund’s Brace Earns Man Utd Victory Over Plzen In Europa League

Rasmus Hojlund scored twice as Manchester United rallied to a 2-1 victory over Viktoria Plzen in the Europa League on Thursday.

The hosts took the lead shortly after half-time, but Hojlund levelled on 62 minutes, six minutes after replacing Marcus Rashford, when the Danish striker tapped in Amad Diallo’s deflected shot.

After Bruno Fernandes had found him inside the box with a clever free kick, he beat Plzen goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka with a clinical finish.

Matej Vydra, a former Watford, West Brom, Reading, Derby and Burnley forward, opened the scoring for the hosts with a close-range finish three minutes after half-time.

After intercepting United goalkeeper Andre Onana’s pass inside the box, Pavel Sulc found Vydra facing an empty net.

The goal was a wake-up call for United manager Ruben Amorim, who made three replacements in its wake, including Hojlund.

“It was not a great game”, said Amorim, before praising the substitutes.

“They changed the game. I’m pleased that they are able to accomplish that.

He continued, “It was important not to give up because that is a great message.”

The chilly evening in Plzen demonstrated that United still have a way to go after Eric ten Hag was fired in the sack in November under the former Sporting Lisbon boss.

Both teams had to work up their pace to start the match with nine points from their first five Europa League games.

Half an hour into the game, Fernandes’ first shot was on target, but Jedlicka parried his low, right-footed effort from the edge of the box.

Two minutes before the break, Onana watched Cheick Souare’s shot scurr just past the top corner of his own goal.

Jedlicka denied Mason Mount and Antony in the second half, with Mount failing to score the goalkeeper twice from close range.

Hojlund turned the game around for United, putting them in a strong position for direct passage to the last 16.

“We didn’t have so much time to work on this type of game. We were controlling the game but didn’t have the pace (in the first half)”, said Amorim.

“We want to improve and we want to improve really fast”, he added.

Source: Channels TV