Rasmus Højlund continued his rich vein of goalscoring from away from Manchester United on Wednesday evening as the Napoli loanee scored twice in the Champions League.
The 22-year-old took his tally to four goals for club and country this season with his brace in Napoli’s 2–1 victory over Sporting CP, continuing his impressive start to life upon his return to Italy.
It was only Højlund’s eighth appearance in the competition proper, with six of his previous outings coming during Man Utd’s disastrous group stage campaign in 2023–24. Despite the struggles of the Red Devils that season, the Denmark international still scored five times.
However, Højlund only ever scored in Champions League defeats for Man Utd. He scored in the club’s 4–3 defeat to Bayern Munich and also netted braces in a 3–2 loss to Galatasaray and 4–3 humiliation at Copenhagen.
By etching his name on the scoresheet in Napoli’s victory over Sporting, Højlund has managed his first ever goal in a Champions League win, piling yet more misery on Man Utd supporters in the process.
The Red Devils slumped to their fourth defeat of the new season at the weekend as pressure continues to grow on Ruben Amorim, and they will be frustrated by the sight of another player who struggled at Old Trafford finding form elsewhere.
Højlund has now scored three goals in just five appearances for Napoli, as many as he scored in his last 35 matches for Man Utd, per Opta.
Rasmus Højlund’s Champions League Record
Former Premier League Rivals Thriving in Naples
Højlund would not have had his European double on Wednesday without the help of a former adversary. Both of his efforts were assisted by ex-Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who produced a stunning performance to get back on good terms with Napoli manager Antonio Conte.
De Bruyne was visibly frustrated by being substituted in the 72nd minute of Napoli’s 2–1 defeat to Milan at the weekend, especially having been sacrificed in his side‘s ten-man loss at former club Man City after just 26 minutes several weeks prior.
The Belgian had scored from the penalty spot just before being withdrawn at San Siro on Sunday, with Conte critical of De Bruyne’s angry reaction to being replaced.
“I hope he was upset about the result because if he was upset about something else he's got the wrong person,” warned Conte after the whistle.
De Bruyne will be relieved to have lasted longer in Wednesday’s Champions League win, taking his tally to six goals and three assists for club and country this season.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Rasmus Hojlund Achieves Champions League Feat He Never Could at Man Utd.
