Rasmus Hojlund has admitted that he was affected by the criticism that came with his Premier League goal drought after joining Manchester United.
He has also spoken about the relief of ‘shutting people up’ and believes some of his detractors were only taking swipes at him out of envy.
The Dane went 14 games without a Premier League goal after joining from Atalanta for £72million, despite scoring five goals in the Champions League group stages.
‘There I thought: ‘Finally!’ It was great to shut people up,’ he told TV2 Sport via the Evening Standard.
Rasmus Hojlund admits he was ‘bothered’ by criticism during his Premier League goal drought
Manchester United’s £72million man went goalless for 14 Premier League games and has conceded that he would trawl through social media comments about his performance
‘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.’
Hojlund quickly became a fan favourite with his hot streak of form, becoming the youngest-ever player to score in six consecutive Premier League games after bagging a brace against Luton.
While he was derided for his inability to find the net until December 26 in the league, there was a consensus that he was putting himself in the right positions and not letting his head drop.
The Red Devils initially said he would be out for ‘two to three weeks’ after his injury against Luton and was back in the side for their 4-3 win over Liverpool on Sunday.
He became the youngest player in Premier League history to score in six consecutive games
Hojlund said it was ‘great to shut people up’ and believes some were just ‘envious’ of him
He came off for Antony after 71 minutes before the Dutchman equalised late on to send the game to extra-time.
Amad Diallo netted a 121st-minute winner to send Old Trafford into ecstacy and book the club a place in the FA Cup semi-finals, where they will face Coventry City.
