Manchester United were undone by two corners when they suffered defeat to Arsenal last month in the Premier League – and Rasmus Hojlund wants to see the Red Devils do better from set-pieces
Rasmus Hojlund has called on his Manchester United team-mates to be ‘sharp’ at set-pieces when they face Arsenal in the FA Cup this weekend.
Manchester United were overwhelmed by the Gunners’ deadball delivery in the Premier League last month and conceded twice from corners in defeat. Jurrien Timber and William Saliba both found the net as Mikel Arteta’s side took advantage of their own strength and a clear United weakness, early in Ruben Amorim’s tenure.
The Red Devils conceded from a set-piece 18 times in 2024, excluding penalties. That saw the side earn their worst tally for more than 30 years.
Coach Carlos Fernandes has been placed in charge of the team’s set-piece defending in a bid to stem the flow of goals. Arsenal, under the guidance of set-piece coach Nicolas Jover, scored nine goals from corners in the Premier League this season.
Hojlund still has ambitions of helping United retain the FA Cup trophy, however. The striker believes his side can learn from their defeat to the Gunners last month.
“It’s a tough first opponent and away as well,” he told club media. “But we’re going to go for it and, and try to go for it again this year.
“It’s a good game and the Emirates is a nice stadium. The pitch is very good. I had my debut there as well. So it’s a special place for me and a good opponent. I’m looking forward to it.
“It can be [a good thing that we played there not long ago], if we do it right. I think we need to be sharp at set-pieces, they have been been very good on that, and they scored twice from that last time around.
“So yeah, very focused there. Just trying to keep improving and do what the manager’s saying and I think we will be good.”
After defeat to Wolves, United boss Amorim reflected on set-pieces in the Premier League. The 39-year-old wants his side to take advantage of corners in the same way his opponents do.
“After a defeat, I don’t want to talk about that, but you can see that every corner nowadays is an opportunity,” he said. “Sometimes you forget the small guys and the talented guys. You put 11 guys to corners or free-kicks if you can do everything inside the box.
“But those are the rules and we must not cry about it but do the same thing. So we have to focus on doing the same thing to the opponent. That is my goal at the moment.”
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