"What he did was not necessary" - San Marino star hits out at Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund after Denmark's 2-1 win
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund has been on the receiving end of criticism from San Marino international Alessandro Tosi for his conduct in their meeting. The striker faced a very physical opponent but saw his country come from behind to win 2-1 on home soil.
Hojlund, who left Atalanta for Manchester United this summer, revealed that he had heard Tosi and his teammates plan to go hard on him. The 20-year-old was not happy with the attention he received from the defenders in the game, as per Fabrizio Romano.
Hojlund said:
"I feel they targeted me, as you can see at the end. I understand Italian and I could hear them saying that they had the idea to crush me. You can see from the images that he only had one idea in mind"
San Marino star Tosi revealed yafter the game that Hojlund exaggerated, and that he did some unnecessary things during the game. The 22-year-old defender revealed that he expected better behaviour from Rasmus Hojlund, but he retains his respect.
"We only told him that he was not behaving properly. What he did was not necessary. He is a very strong striker, but he was not fair at all. I haven't lost respect for him completely, but we expected better behaviour. His behaviour when celebrating was unacceptable."
According to Tribal Football, the young defender said that the Manchester United man plays in the Premier League with better defenders, and should be used to duelling.
"Hojlund plays in a league against defenders who are far more skilled, physical and tougher than us, so he should be used to these kinds of duels."
Rasmus Hojlund opened the scoring for Denmark in the first half, before Yussuf Polsen added a second in the second half. Footage from the game showed that Hojlund was at the receiving end of some unnecessary attention and unsportsman-like tackles in the game.
Rasmus Hojlund keen to allay Manchester United worries
Manchester United spent over £70 million to sign Rasmus Hojlund from Atalanta, and the striker has yet to fully find his feet. He arrived the club with a back injury that ruled him out September, delaying his debut.
Hojlund has impressed in bits for the Red Devils, with three UEFA Champions League goals to his name this season. The youngster will be keen to take his side's goalscoring burden on and allow Marcus Rashford a bit more room to find form.
Manchester United will hope that Rasmus Hojlund is fit enough to play a part as they visit Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United. Erik ten Hag will be keen for his new striker to be available to play a part in the game.