Ian Wright believes Rasmus Hojlund should be ‘pulling Diogo Dalot up in the dressing room’ after the defender failed to find him during a promising attack against Bournemouth on Saturday.
United were embarrassed by the Cherries at Old Trafford as Andoni Iraola’s side celebrated an emphatic 3-0 victory over Erik ten Hag‘s men.
Hojlund’s agonising wait for a first Premier League goal since completing his £72million summer move to the club continues to drag on, with the Dane still yet to break his English top-flight duck.
The 20-year-old was relegated to the bench against Bournemouth, with Ten Hag opting to start unimpressive Frenchman Anthony Martial in his place.
Ten Hag’s decision to replace Martial with Hojlund was cheered by fans inside Old Trafford and the Danish striker was then denied the chance to score the equaliser after being ignored by Dalot.
Rasmus Hojlund’s wait for a first Premier League goal dragged on in Man United’s defeat against Bournemouth on Saturday
The Danish striker fumed at Diogo Dalot after the defender chose to shoot rather than square a pass in the game
With the score at 1-0, Dalot closed in on goal after breaking down the right wing.
Hojlund created space for himself in the middle of the box, but Dalot selfishly took on the shot from a tight angle, smashing his effort into the side netting instead of squaring for the Dane to score from close range.
Former Arsenal striker Wright fumed on BBC’s Match of the Day and slammed the Portuguese right back for making the wrong decision.
‘When I saw it was Dalot at 1-0… Hojlund had just come on and he wants these chances. It’s good play, he [Dalot] gets in and he’s got to square it,’ said Wright.
‘I think that’s a total lack of respect for him [Hojlund], he doesn’t even acknowledge him.
‘He’s had a shot from the most ridiculous angle. He’s upset with himself but he doesn’t even look for Hojlund, it was a ridiculous shot and Bournemouth scored a minute later.
‘Hojlund has got to be pulling him up in the dressing room and saying “come on.”‘
Ian Wright believes Dalot showed Hojlund ‘a total lack of respect’ by refusing to pass
Hojlind was introduced as a second half substitute against Bournemouth but struggled to make an impact
The 20-year-old has endured a frustrating start to life in the Premier League, with his most recent outing taking his total wait for a first goal in the division to 798 minutes.
He has now played 12 matches in the top flight without finding the net.
However, his form in the Champions League has been impressive having already scored five goals in United’s disappointing European campaign.
Hojlund will be hoping to continue his superb start in Europe when Man United host Bayern Munich on Tuesday needing to beat the German giants to stand any chance of progressing to the last 16.