Alan Shearer slams Garnacho & Antony as 'extraordinary' passing stats to Hojlund emerge

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·24 December 2023

Alan Shearer slams Garnacho & Antony as 'extraordinary' passing stats to Hojlund emerge

Former Newcastle United and Blackburn Rovers striker Alan Shearer has hit out at Manchester United duo Antony and Alejandro Garnacho for failing to provide Rasmus Hojlund as the 20-year-old Dane, who was bought for £72 million in the summer transfer window, is still yet to open his goalscoring account in the Premier League.

United were condemned to a 2-0 loss recently as a duo of West Ham United strikes from Jarrod Bowen and Mohamed Kudus meant that Erik ten Hag and United’s season continued to go from bad to worse, with them entering Christmas Day in eighth place in the table after being leapfrogged by David Moyes’ triumphing side.

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Even before their gut-wrenching loss at the London Stadium, Hojlund’s scarce potency in front of goal had been highlighted by his poor domestic goal return - though, it is widely believed among United supporters that he is not getting the necessary support he needs as a fresh face who is attempting to master his craft in arguably the toughest league in world football.

Shearer hits out at Garnacho and Antony for Man Utd struggles

Man Utd have scored the joint second-fewest goals in the league this season

Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day alongside host Gary Lineker and co-host Micah Richards, Shearer was perplexed at the lack of service that Hollund had received in the club’s opening matches of the current season. A seasoned striker himself, whose 260 goals in the Premier League see him top the all-time goalscoring charts, will be more than aware of how the youngster must be feeling with United’s attacking woes, claiming that Ten Hag’s side will struggle to rack up their goal count unless they can ‘improve’ on balls being directed into Hojlund’s path.

“Antony into Hojlund – six passes in, what, five games all season. Garnacho [with] five passes. I mean that should be happening per game, never mind five or six games. We can see what’s drastically wrong, and they’re never going to score goals unless they improve on that.”

Speaking earlier in December, the striker-turned-pundit was particularly critical of Antony, who has failed to register a goal or assists in 19 games this term, claiming that playing alongside the struggling Brazilian would do his ‘nut in’ because of his predictable game plan.

“On the right-hand side, you've got Antony. He would do my nut in playing with him because you know 99.9 percent of the time he's coming inside on that left foot. Not only do the defenders know, so they can then set themselves. On the odd occasion if he did go down on the right-hand side it might make it a little bit more difficult, but for a centre-forward it doesn't half make it very difficult when he's doing that.”

In their first 18 games in the Premier League in the 2023/24 campaign, the Red Devils have only managed, on average, one goal per game, which leaves them as the joint-second worst team in terms of goals scored so far, with Sheffield United at the bottom of the charts (13). That said, United are level with the likes of Crystal Palace and relegation zone duo Luton Town and Burnley. Labelling the 13-time Premier League champion’s output this season as ‘embarrassing’, Shearer questioned Ten Hag’s plan going forward and explained what needs to change at the club.

“Really embarrassing from a United point of view – 18 goals this season. Ten Hag says ‘we’ve got to stick to the plan’ – I haven’t got a clue what that plan is to be honest, and I’ve been watching Manchester United quite a lot this season. They’ve got to get more people into the box. Poor passes, wrong options, not creating any chances at all.”

Rasmus Hojlund’s woes illustrated in eye-opening graphic

The 20-year-old has scored zero goals in the Premier League

Recently, a graphic emerged – courtesy of The Telegraph – highlighting one of many of United’s problems that have been ever-present this season. The Old Trafford hierarchy opted against signing a Premier League proven striker, most notably Harry Kane, over the summer months and, instead, signed Hojlund – a 20-year-old who is relatively inexperienced at the top level.

While scoring in the Champions League seemed to come like second nature to the former Atalanta ace, doing so domestically has proven to be a growing issue. But given that he, among all Premier League centre forwards, has received the fewest passes in 2023/24, the blame is beginning to shift onto his teammates.

Before United’s duo of games against Liverpool and West Ham United – in which they accrued zero goals – Hojlund has received fewer than 150 goals in the Premier League, ever so slightly behind his teammate Anthony Martial. With one eye on the European spots, in whatever shape or form, Ten Hag and Hojlund, in particular, will be hoping for a change in the near future to better their chances of a decent season.