Rasmus Hojlund admits he was ‘bothered’ by criticism during Man United goal drought in the Premier League… and claims it was ‘great to shut people up’ as he accuses critics of jealousy

Rasmus Hojlund has admitted he was affected by criticism over his Premier League drought after joining Manchester United.

He also spoke of the relief of “silent people” and believes some of his detractors were only throwing jabs at him out of envy.

The Dane went 14 games without a goal in the Premier League after joining from Atalanta for £72 million, despite scoring five goals in the Champions League group stage.

He then scored in six consecutive league matches, scoring seven goals, before suffering a muscle injury at the end of February.

“There, I thought: ‘Finally!’ It was great to shut people up,” he said TV2 Sport via the Evening Standard.

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“Of course it bothered me a bit that people kept talking about that Premier League goal that wasn’t scored, while few people were talking about the fact that I was the top scorer in the League at the same time champions.

“I couldn’t figure that out, so it was even nicer to change that 0 to a 1.”

“I could feel support from day one, but clearly there are many who want to see you fall because you have reached the level you have reached, and there are many who may be envious.

“There were a lot of positive comments, but there were also some negative comments that I had to sort through. At first it was a little difficult to distinguish between one and the other.

“I come from a generation where mobile and social media are read mindlessly. I quickly realized that you rarely take something out of good or bad, so I quickly decided to put it away before a game.

Hojlund quickly became a fan favorite thanks to his streak of good form, becoming the youngest player to score in six consecutive Premier League games after netting a brace against Luton.

While he was ridiculed for his inability to find the net before December 26 in the league, there was consensus that he was putting himself in the right positions and not dropping his head.

The Red Devils initially announced he would be out for “two to three weeks” following his injury against Luton and was back in the squad for their 4-3 win over Liverpool on Sunday.

He came off for Antony after 71 minutes before the Dutchman equalized late on to send the match into extra time.

Amad Diallo scored a 121st-minute winner to send Old Trafford into ecstasy and book the club a place in the FA Cup semi-finals, where they will face Coventry City.