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 you scored for Denmark a lot, you scored in the Champions League, so you demonstrated ability,” remembered the Manchester United manager. “You can do it, believe in it, it will come. I am sure now the first goal is in, more will come.”
How that faith has been repaid. It took just 36 seconds in front of an expectant Kenilworth Road crowd that was baying for United blood for Højlund to become the youngest player in Premier League history to score in six successive matches – at 21 years and 14 days, beating Erling Haaland, Thierry Henry and Ruud van Nistelrooy in the process to take Joe Willock of Newcastle’s previous record of 21 years and 272 days old.
Less than six minutes later, the Denmark striker had extended his tally to seven goals in his past six matches since the dramatic winner against Villa which helped to transform United’s season under Ten Hag.
Despite a late scare when Ross Barkley hit the crossbar in stoppage time, they managed to record a fourth successive Premier League victory to revive hopes of Champions League qualification next season – even if United’s familiar failings returned to haunt them at times in a shaky performance during which Luton refused to throw in the towel. But Højlund’s performance capped an astonishing reversal of fortunes for the softly spoken boy from Hørsholm in Copenhagen’s northern suburbs.
Signed for an initial £64m from Atalanta in the summer more in hope than expectation, he is quickly developing into the player Ten Hag must have prayed he could be and – whisper it – potentially a worthy successor to Van Nistelrooy himself. A burgeoning relationship with Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho, who were both outstanding alongside him here even if both wasted chances to put this game well beyond Luton, certainly bodes well for the future when the Dutchman resolves some of his side’s other major issues.
United’s hoodoo over Luton stretches all the way back to March 1987 when Brian Stein and Mick Harford, the club’s chief recruitment officer, scored in a 2-1 win here. They have now emerged victorious in 11 of the past 13 since then and it seemed that there was only going to be one winner after less than seven minutes had been played.
Højlund’s first goal was an example of his newly found ruthless streak as Amari’i Bell made a real mess of Casemiro’s long ball to gift possession away in a dangerous position. There was still plenty for Højlund to do before beating Thomas Kaminski, who came to Luton’s rescue on several occasions later on, from a tight angle. But his second was a moment of pure instinct when Garnacho’s shot following a corner was whistling just wide of the post and Højlund stuck out his left pec to calmly divert the ball into the net.
You can never take anything for granted against this Luton side, however. The manager, Rob Edwards, was forced into a late change up front when Luton’s top scorer Elijah Adebayo sustained an injury during the warmup, with Cauley Woodrow making his first Premier League start for almost a decade. Perhaps unsurprisingly, he looked decidedly rusty but it was his strike partner, Carlton Morris, who caused United’s defence – and Harry Maguire in particular – no end of problems during the first half.
Morris was quickest to react when the former United youngster Tahith Chong’s shot was blocked inside the area to pull one back and then had to be brought down via an agricultural challenge from Maguire just before half-time as Luton pressed for an equaliser. The England defender was probably relieved to be withdrawn at the break after such a grilling, while Casemiro could count himself lucky not to be shown a second yellow card after catching Morris with a late challenge.
Having enjoyed total domination over Diogo Dalot down Luton’s left flank, Alfie Doughty was inches away from levelling the scores at the break and United could have had no complaints if they had gone in level. Never quite being sure that they are going to hold on to a lead is part and parcel of being a United supporter these days but those behind Kaminski’s goal in the second half were certainly full of good cheer as they watched their side waste numerous opportunities to give Ten Hag breathing space. “We’re not famous any more,” greeted one of several unsuccessful attempts from Luton’s fans to antagonise their counterparts.
Højlund looked thoroughly dejected when Kaminski thwarted his hopes of a third late on with a brilliant one-handed save from close range. It was a hat‑trick that he scored on his full international debut for Denmark against Finland last March that is believed to have helped convince United to take the plunge. On the evidence of the last few weeks, even a fee that could rise to £72m with add‑ons could prove to be a bargain.
