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Rasmus Hojlund found himself in elite company thanks to his goal against Viktoria Plzen before being better than the rest later on in the game. The Danish striker cancelled out Matej Vydra's opener in Manchester United's Europa League tie against their Czech rivals on Thursday, tapping home the rebound after Amad Diallo's shot was saved by Plzen goalkeeper Martin Jedlicka. He then scored in the 88th minute to seal a 2-1 win for Ruben Amorim's men. Bruno Fernandes fizzed a free-kick from 40 yards out into Hojlund's feet. The Dane showed off his physical prowess to hold off his marker and control the pass with his left foot before smashing home. Hojlund's two goals against Viktoria Plzen were his ninth and tenth goals in European competition since he joined the Red Devils in August last year for £72million. Five of those came in the space of six Champions League games last season, with the other five coming in United's Europa League campaign this term. With the tally of ten, it means he has scored more goals for United in European competition aged 21 or younger than Marcus Rashford and Wayne Rooney, who both scored nine times. Hojlund has also needed just 12 European games to reach double figures for the Red Devils. However, he has some way to go to match the feats of Rooney and Rashford. Across his 13 hugely successful seasons at Old Trafford, Rooney featured in 98 European games for United across the Champions League and Europa League. In that time, he smashed home 36 goals as well as picking up winner's medals for the Champions League and Europa League in 2007/08 and 2016/17 respectively. As for Rashford, he has 26 goals to his name from 74 European games. Hojlund's second-half brace was much-needed for United and also Amorim. Had Vydra remained the only name on the scoresheet, it would have marked the first time the Red Devils boss had ever lost three-straight games in his managerial career. But Hojlund helped spare Amorim's potential blushes with his two goals. Not only that, but the win put Amorim himself on a path only two United managers have walked. United's 2-1 win over Viktoria Plzen meant Amorim became just the third Red Devils boss to win his first two matches in a major European competition. Only Sir Alex Ferguson and Matt Busby had achieved the sensational feat prior. The victory helped United move up to fifth in the Europa League table, where the top eight automatically qualify for the next round. But Amorim and his side must quickly switch their focus back to the Premier League, as a derby against Manchester City on Sunday awaits. United will be licking their lips at taking on a wounded City, who slipped to a 2-0 loss to Juventus on Wednesday. Pep Guardiola's side have won just once in their last 10 fixtures and Amorim would no doubt love to extend that to an eleventh game. © 2024 talk SPORT Limited
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