Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund admitted that the team’s performance fell short in the aftermath of Marcus Rashford’s red card against FC Copenhagen in the Champions League.
Despite Hojlund securing a 2-0 lead with a brace in the Danish capital, the situation worsened when Rashford was sent off just before halftime for alleged violent conduct. United conceded two goals before the break, and although Bruno Fernandes restored the lead with a penalty 20 minutes before the end, a late collapse resulted in a 4-3 victory for Copenhagen, leaving the Red Devils at the bottom of Group A.
Hojlund, whose early double marked his fourth and fifth Champions League goals of the season, tying him with Alvaro Morata for the most goals in the 2023/24 competition, set aside personal achievements when analyzing the game with CBS Sports.
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Expressing disappointment, Hojlund said, “Of course, it changed the game, but it’s a bad feeling. We did well to keep working hard after the (third) goal and to try to keep them away from the goal, but we need to do better. We can’t let them come back in a game like this!
“We went a man down and they made a change of system to try and get men forward, and it worked for them.”
Manager Erik ten Hag echoed Hojlund’s feeling of disappointment and pointed towards Rashford’s red card as the decisive turning point in the game.
“We are very disappointed because we played very good,” the Dutchman said. “We started the game so well. Our best minutes of the season. We are winning the game and the red card changes everything.
“It’s a game of mistakes. I wouldn’t say we did everything right but there are a lot of positives. Even with ten men we were dictating the game. We played very good.”