'It was great to shut people up' - Rasmus Hojlund opens up on early Man Utd struggles and how he was 'bothered' by negative comments

The Denmark international enjoyed a scintillating start to life in the Champions League, scoring five goals as United crashed out at the group stages. But in the league, Hojlund endured a miserable run of 14 games without a goal. The £72 million ($92m) forward was criticised in the media and was the subject of cruel comparisons to TikTok star Sean Mills during said drought. However, Hojlund eventually silenced his critics against Aston Villa in December, with his maiden league goal coming as a last-minute winner in a 3-2 victory. And he admits that it was "great to shut people up" with that strike.

The Dane told TV2 Sport (via the Standard): “There I thought: ‘Finally!’ It was great to shut people up. Of course, it bothered me a bit that people kept talking about this Premier League goal that hadn’t been scored, whereas not many people were talking about the fact that I was top scorer in the Champions League at the same time. I couldn’t quite get my head round that, so it was even nicer to change that 0 to 1.

"I could feel the support from day one, but it’s clear that there are many who want to see you down because you’ve reached the level you’ve reached, and there are many who may be envious. There have been many positive comments, but there have also been some negative ones that I’ve had to sort through. At first, it was a bit difficult to distinguish between one and the other. I’m from a generation where mobile and social media are read an insane amount. I quickly realised that you rarely get anything out of either the good or the bad, so I quickly decided to put it away before a match.”

Following a barren run of form in front of goal in the league, Hojlund's nerves appeared to settle as he embarked on an incredible scoring streak. After drawing a blank against Wigan in the FA Cup on January 8, the Dane then scored in six consecutive matches in all competitions for United. Only an untimely training injury stopped him adding to that tally of seven goals and two assists, which he continues to recover from going into the business end of the season.

Hojlund was missed during his four games on the sidelines, with United only scoring three non-penalty goals in that period.

The 21-year-old made a welcome return to the action in Sunday's FA Cup thriller against Liverpool but was unable to make an impact in the 4-3 win, as he now looks to build up his fitness while on Denmark duty. Kasper Hjulmand's side take on Switzerland and the Faroe Islands in friendlies later this month.