Rasmus Hojlund has issued a heartfelt apology for angering Manchester United supporters with an Instagram post after Thursday’s chaotic 3-3 draw against Porto. United squandered a 2-0 lead at the Estadio do Dragao to remain winless after two Europa League matches and intensify the pressure on Erik ten Hag.
Hojlund made his first start of the season in Portugal, replacing Joshua Zirkzee at the heart of United’s front three.
And the 21-year-old opened his account in the 20th minute, adding to Marcus Rashford’s early strike to hand the visitors a comfortable cushion.
However, as has been the tradition in Europe under Ten Hag, United threw away the lead before half-time as Pepe and Samuel Omorodion levelled the score in a whirlwind seven minutes.
Omorodion made it a brace to fire Porto ahead five minutes into the second half, leaving the Red Devils shellshocked once again.
Harry Maguire’s last-gasp header from the bench salvaged a point but didn’t improve the mood among fans, who have witnessed just three wins in 10 games this term.
Hojlund was in high spirits after full-time, and unsurprisingly so, given he ended a frustrating spell on the sidelines by finding the net.
He commemorated his goal with an Instagram post containing images of his celebration, captioning it: “Luckily, I had six weeks to practice my celebration.”
But the post wasn’t received well by a vast number of supporters who deemed it tone-deaf, given the current morale about the club’s exploits on the pitch.
Hojlund has since returned to Instagram to edit the caption, adding: “A win would’ve made it perfect.”
The United No. 9 has also apologised to those upset by his social media activity, writing on his Instagram story: “I’ve seen some anger about my post of yesterday. I never intended that…
“I was only happy to be back out there on the scoresheet again after a tough few weeks where I couldn’t play and score.
“Obviously, we go for the win, and I will give everything to make you guys happy.
“Sorry yesterday’s post was not the case. Let’s move on, getting ready to give everything again on Sunday.”
Hojlund will be in contention to start this weekend when United face another daunting task against Aston Villa.
Villa Park witnessed a 1-0 victory over Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Wednesday, so Ten Hag and his players will know they will be up against it.