Damn statistics came to the fore after £ 72 million striker Rasmus Hojlund was taken for Academy Whiz Chido Obi in the FA Cup exit from Manchester United to Fulham.
The Red Devils, who won last year's final against Rivals Man City, were sent after a 1-1 draw after a 1-1 draw after a 1-1 draw.
Victor Lindelof and Joshua Zirkzee picked their lines while goalkeeper Bernd Leno produced two beautiful rescues to send Fulham to the quarters.
And United was again over to think about their lack of potential in the last third part.
Danish striker Hojlund, 22, started the game while he seemed to end to end his infertile run in front of the goal.
The former Atalanta -man, signed for £ 72 million in 2023, only seven goals has this period – including only two in the Premier League.
Hojlund did not score since he delivered a brace in the 2-1 Europa League Group phase of United on Viktoria Plzen on December 12 on December 12.
But he was unable to break into his duck after he had picked up the 68th minute with United who pursued a goal.
Instead, frustrated boss Ruben Amorim preferred his chances with OBI, who is only 17 years old and only came to United's Academy from Arsenal last summer.
The teenager also failed to eventually secure Bruno Fernandes an equalizer for the hosts.
But Obi looked extremely lively when Fulham's defense came under real pressure.
And his statistics of last night's game ensure damn reading as far as Hojlund is concerned.
The latter played 68 minutes, while OBI – which was also visible for 30 minutes extra time – was on the field for 52 minutes.
But even though Hojlund had a longer chance to show his capacities, the DANE had only one shot on the goal.
For comparison: Obi Martin enjoyed three shots in his shorter time.
All three were considered “big opportunities”, which shows that he was in the right positions.
And incredible, that is exactly the same amount of “big opportunities” that Hojlund has had in all 22 of his Premier League matches so far this season.
Back to last night's game, there were more unfortunate statistics for Hojlund.
He only completed four passes to OBIs Five.
And he was less involved in the accumulated game with only nine touches to OBIs 18.
Both men lost four of their duels on the ball.
But Hojlund could only win one, with Obi fighting for four successful duels.
Their heat cards also provide interesting reading, whereby the performance of Hojlund hardly registers and OBI clearly gets stuck in different parts of the field.
Former striker of Newcastle and England, Alan Shearer, indeed felt that OBI had put itself on the map last night and will now give Amorim a real headache when it comes to selecting the team for the next game of United against Real Sociedad on Thursday.
Shearer said: “He has been a real handful there, you know. He certainly offered much more than Hojlund when he was on the field.
“He is nuisance and difficult to play against. I love what I see from Obi, I really do. He has certainly given them another option to play with. '
Man United Legend Wayne Rooney also greeted Obi and added: “What I really liked about him is that he has placed himself in a number of really good positions.
“I am really impressed by him. He looked like the one who could continue and caught it. '
However, Rooney was of the opinion that Hojlund's poor performance was mainly due to a lack of support from teammates.
Wazza insisted on United's game makers to create more opportunities, Wazza continued: “With myself I had good senior players around me.
“Sometimes I made mistakes and had a bad game, but I had good players around me. Hojlund does not get any help.
“I think United is playing too slowly, the ball speed is too slow, and they just wait around for the center for the center.
“The movement of Hojlund here is really good and he is unlucky with this one. He tried it and makes it behind him, but United does not come close to help.
“He tries to hold the ball and use his body, he is a bit isolated. He needs someone he can also put the ball down and he can get back in the box.
“Not only Hojlund, but Joshua Zirkzee has given up the ball too often.
“There is not enough creativity and they do not hold the ball up for midfielders and defenders to support them, it is a bit of both.”
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