by In years to come, Rasmus Højlund may reflect on a conversation he had with Erik ten Hag just before he broke his Premier League duck against Aston Villa at the 15th attempt on Boxing Day. “I pointed out that you scored a lot for Denmark, you scored in the Champions League, so you showed potential,” the Manchester United manager recalled. “You can do it, believe in it, it will come. I’m sure now that the first goal is in, more will come.”
How was that faith repaid. It took just 36 seconds before a packed Kenilworth Road crowd baying for United blood for Højlund to become the youngest player in Premier League history to score in six consecutive games – aged just 21 years and 14 day tackling the likes of Erling Haaland. , Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelorooy in the process of taking the previous record held by Newcastle’s Joe Willock, who was 21 years and 272 days old. Less than six minutes later, the Danish striker extended his tally to seven goals in his last six games since the dramatic winner against Villa, which helped transform United’s season under Ten Hag.
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Despite a late scare when Ross Barkley hit the crossbar in stoppage time, they managed to record a fourth straight win away from home to give them hope of Champions League qualification next season – even if United’s familiar failings return to insult them at times in a trembling performance. saw Luton refuse to throw in the towel. But Højlund’s performance capped a remarkable reversal of fortune for the soft-spoken boy from Hørsholm in the northern suburbs of Copenhagen.
Signed for an initial £64m from Atalanta in the summer more hopeful than expected, he is rapidly developing into the player Ten Hag must pray he could be and – whisper it – could be a worthy successor to Van Nistelrooy himself. There’s certainly a growing relationship with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, both of whom were outstanding here even if both miss chances to take this game much further than Luton, it’s sure to be good for the future when the Dutch resolves some of the other major issues.
United’s hoodoo over Luton stretches all the way back to March 1987 when Brian Stein and Mick Harford, who remains the club’s chief recruitment officer, scored in a 2-1 win here. They have now won 11 of the last 13 since and it looked like there was only one winner after less than seven minutes had been played.
Højlund’s first goal was an example of his newfound ruthless streak when Amari’i Bell made a big mess of Casemiro’s long ball to gift possession in a dangerous position. Højlund still had plenty to do before hitting Thomas Kaminski, who would come to Luton’s rescue moments later, from a tight angle. But the second was a moment of pure instinct when Garnacho’s shot after a corner whistled just across the post and Højlund used his left foot to calmly divert the ball into the net.
You can never take anything for granted against this Luton side though. Manager Rob Edwards was forced into a late change early on when top scorer Elijah Adebayo suffered an injury in the warm-up, with Cauley Woodrow making his first Premier League start for nearly a decade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he looked decidedly rusty but it was his strike partner, Carlton Morris, who caused United’s defense – and Harry Maguire in particular – endless problems in the first half.
Morris was quick to respond when former United youngster Tahith Chong’s shot was blocked inside the area to pull one back and then had to be brought down by an agricultural challenge from Mag Uidhir just before half-time and Luton pushing for an equaliser. The England defender was probably relieved to be withdrawn at the break after such a grind, although Casemiro could count himself lucky not to be shown a second yellow card after a late challenge on Morris.
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After completely dominating Luton’s left-back Diogo Dalot, Alfie Doughty was inches away from leveling the scores at the break and United could have had no complaints if they had leveled. Never be sure that staying ahead is a staple of being a United supporter these days but those behind Kaminski’s second-half goal were certainly full of joy as they watched their waste side to give numerous opportunities. Ten Hag breathing space. “We’re not famous anymore,” hailed one of several unsuccessful attempts by Luton fans to refute their colleagues.
Højlund looked very proud as Kaminski thwarted his hopes late in the third with a superb one-handed save from close range. It was a hat-trick he scored on his first full international for Denmark against Finland last March which is believed to have helped convince United to make the move. On the evidence of recent weeks, even raising the fee to £72m with add-ons could be a bargain.
