Manchester United icon Paul Scholes has remarked that Rasmus Hojlund was “fortunate to remain on the field” as he finally secured his debut Premier League goal after 1026 minutes in England’s top flight. 

Hojlund’s decisive goal came in the Red Devils’ 3-2 triumph over Aston Villa on Boxing Day.

Despite the Denmark striker’s challenging start, having joined United in a £72 million deal this summer, it took him 15 matches to break his goal drought. 

It is reported that Erik ten Hag considered substituting Hojlund before his 82nd-minute winner. However, the former Ajax manager kept him on the pitch and replaced Marcus Rashford, who had sustained an injury.

Scholes acknowledged that Hojlund experienced a stroke of luck with the goal but emphasized the importance of acting on instinct when struggling to score. 

The United legend, speaking on Premier League Productions after the match, noted that in the split second of the goal, Hojlund had no time to dwell on it and acted on pure instinct, targeting the far corner with precision.

“He does get a little bit of luck with the goal. He’s lucky he’s on the pitch. But as Michael [Owen] said, I think it’s always best when you have not been scoring goals, to not have time about it and act on instinct.

‘He has no time whatsoever [with the goal]. It happens in a flash of a second. The only thing he is thinking about is the far corner, it’s the only place he can score,” Scholes said.