Rasmus Hojlund: “I’m the happiest man alive right now

Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund admitted he feels like the “happiest man alive” after netting his first Premier League goal in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

A £72m signing from Atalanta during the summer, Hojlund was prolific in the Champions League but could not carry that form over to domestic action and went on a run of 1,026 minutes without a Premier League goal before his heroics at Old Trafford.

Hojlund’s celebrations were incredibly emotional and the 20-year-old confessed he was feeling on top of the world after finally ending his drought.

“It’s been a while but I’m happy,” Hojlund told Amazon Prime. “I’m the happiest man alive right now. You can see the celebrations as well. We believed until the end and showed a lot of character as well.

“I’ve scored a couple in the Champions League but it’s been a while in the Premier League. Today we showed a lot of character. Happy to get the first one and hopefully I can build on that.”

United have struggled in front of goal this season – 14% of their goals scored this campaign came on Tuesday – but Hojlund’s strike and a double from Alejandro Garnacho helped seal an enormous victory at the start of the Sir Jim Ratcliffe era.

“Too many people talk about the strikers in Manchester United and say we never score goals,” Garnacho added. “But today you see [Marcus] Rashford with the assist, Rasmus with the goal, so we’re happy. One of the best days of my life.”

Only three teams in the division have scored fewer than United’s 21 goals this season, while the Red Devils are level with newly-promoted Luton Town.

The next chance to add to their tally will come on Saturday with a trip to Nottingham Forest, who picked up a dramatic 3-1 win over Newcastle United on Boxing Day.