Rasmus Hojlund says Manchester United must stick together if they are to emerge from a “tough period” that has put Erik ten Hag’s side under intense scrutiny and pressure.
Having won the Carabao Cup, reached the FA Cup final and finished third during the Dutchman’s first campaign in change, things have gone dramatically awry this term.
United have lost four of their opening seven matches for the first time in the Premier League era and are pointless after their first two Champions League group games.
There was no disgrace in the 4-3 loss at Bayern Munich a fortnight ago, but Tuesday’s 3-2 collapse at home to a Galatasaray side that had never won in England before is something else.
“Of course it’s not about the individual performance,” Hojlund said.
“It’s about getting the three points and at the moment we’re not doing good enough.
“We need to remember we can’t get goals (go in) right after we score.
“We’ve had a few games now where they just score after we scored.
“We need to go back and analyse that tomorrow and talk about it in the group.
“Of course it’s a tough period now but we need to stick together and that’s the only way we can get out of this period.”
Hojlund opened the scoring on Tuesday with his first Old Trafford goal, only for grinning former United forward Wilfried Zaha to level for Galatasaray.
Summer signing Hojlund raced through to score a superb second after he saw an earlier effort ruled out for offside, but Kerem Akturkoglu quickly equalise for the visitors.
That goal sent United into a tailspin. Andre Onana’s horror pass led to Casemiro getting a red card and the Turkish champions winning a penalty, which Mauro Icardi missed but quickly atoned for when racing through to dink home.
“We need to get some points now if we want to play in Champions League after the group stage,” Hojlund said ahead of matches home and away to former club FC Copenhagen.
“I am looking forward to playing against them because it’s a former club, my brothers are playing there, and I have a big heart for Copenhagen.
“But now I play in Manchester United and we need to get some points out of them.”
United players kept their heads down as they walked through interview area after a chastening loss in which Hojlund’s display was the only highlight.
The Old Trafford giants went for promise over a proven goalscorer when signing the 20-year-old international from Atalanta in the summer and he enjoyed his breakout moment on Tuesday.
“It’s about getting in there,” Hojlund told MUTV. “For me, I always try to get into the dangerous positions.
“Today I got the ball three times (there), if you count the offside goal as well.
“I’ve been bought to be scoring goals and now I was happy to score two today.
“Marcus (Rashford) and I talk to each other and he knows that I’m going to be there.
“He knows that I can keep up with his pace when we go on the counter and we saw a glimpse of that today.
“(The second goal) was a good feeling. I got cheated a little bit before because of the offside (with my second goal) but, yeah, it was an incredible goal.
“I like to call that a signature Rasmus goal – on the left side, running a lot so, yeah, it was nice.”
Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters
Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday.
After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight.
Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.
In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal.
Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out.
However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining.
Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena.
The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.
Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range.
Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt.
There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner.
Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition.
Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City
Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.
The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.
The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.
There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.
Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.
“Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.
“That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.
“Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.
“I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.
“Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”
Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.
That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.
He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.
Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League
Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.
Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.
Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.
Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.
The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick.
That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.
In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.
Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.
Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.
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