Hojlund hopes Wolves victory can be ‘turning point’, Ten Hag says win ‘massive’

Updated 02/02/2024 at 00:33 GMT

Rasmus Hojlund scored for a third-straight game as Manchester United recorded a thrilling 4-3 win over Wolves in the Premier League on Wednesday. The Denmark international hopes it can be a “turning point” in the team’s season and also believes he can continue his rich vein of form. Erik ten Hag, meanwhile, hailed his side’s triumph as a “massive win” as United climbed to seventh.Rasmus Hojlund and Kobbie Mainoo of Manchester United applaud the fans after the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Manchester United at Molineux on February 01, 2024 in Wolverhampton, England.

Image credit: Getty Images

Erik ten Hag’s side emerged triumphant in a rollercoaster match at Molineux thanks to a stoppage-time winner from teenager Kobbie Mainoo.

Wolves thought they had snatched a point after Pedro Neto’s strike just seconds earlier.

Goals by Marcus Rashford – restored to the team after a disciplinary issue – and Hojlund had given United a 2-0 lead before Pablo Sarabia’s penalty halved the deficit.

Substitute Scott McTominay responded immediately but Wolves captain Max Kilman’s goal set up a nervy finish – and chaos would subsequently unfold as United left it incredibly late to secure the win.

Hojlund hopes his side can continue to build momentum as United climb to seventh.

“I don’t want to jinx anything but hopefully it can be a turning point,” he told TNT Sports.

“It’s a big win away and maybe we can get some wins going. January was okay for us and now I hope we have a good February.

“We take every game at a time and we go for everything we can win. We want to win every game and go for the FA Cup and get as high in the table as possible. Hopefully we can get the Champions League.”

United are currently eight points adrift of the top-four but clearly buoyed by his form, Hojlund is in a positive frame of mind.

It took the Denmark international until Boxing Day to register his first league goal but he has now scored in back-to-back Premier League games and also found the net in the 4-2 win over Newport in the FA Cup.

“I think there is an old saying with strikers that if you get the first they keep rolling. This one is a scrappy one but I need to be there and it is a good cross from Luke [Shaw],” he continued.

“I think my role is to find the spaces where I can be free and normally the manager wants me to go in the front to create space for the others. It is very important.”

Hojlund is the joint top scorer in the UEFA Champions League this season with five goals – despite United crashing out having finish bottom of their group.

But the 20-year-old, who joined the Red Devils from Serie A club Atalanta in a summer deal reported to be worth £72 million – admits he has had to take time to adjust to the task of producing in the Premier League.

“I think it is a little bit faster to what I was used to in the Italian league,” he said.

“I think you need to be a split-second faster. I had to get used to that. Both physically and mentally you have to be ready before you get the ball.”

Meanwhile, Ten Hag hailed the victory as “massive” but said his team were “naive” for threatening to throw away a two-goal lead.

He added: “This match has a lot of sides. But let’s take first the positives. I think we played very good and dictated the game for an hour. We should go up 3-0 or 4-0 but we didn’t and then in the end it is quite naive.

“The way we conceded goals shouldn’t happen but then we showed resilience. Especially Kobbie Mainoo. It was a great goal.”

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