Christian Eriksen has backed Ramsus Hojlund to come good at Manchester United.
Hojlund has only managed seven goals all season – just two in the Premier League – and has now gone 20 appearances since he last netted in a Europa League clash against Viktoria Plzen on December 12.
The 22-year-old came off the bench in the second half of Sunday's 1-1 draw against Arsenal and saw a good chance go begging, while he looked low on confidence when tackled by Declan Rice when well placed to shoot.
Eriksen, who returned to the starting line-up against the Gunners, said it would be unfair to focus solely on his fellow Dane Hojlund, and insisted several members of the squad are failing in their duty to share the goalscoring burden.
“There’s a lot of players on the pitch, me included, that should score some more goals, it’s not him,” said Eriksen.
“But he’s a striker, he lives for the goals, and tries to score goals. He’s in these situations [with getting chances today], now it’s about getting the belief of scoring, but he’s a hard-working guy who tries his best and wants his best for the team.
“At some point it will click and it will go the other way”.
United have lost seven times at home in the league this season, form which has taken a turn for the worse under new coach Ruben Amorim.
But against second-placed Arsenal, United kept a rare first-half clean sheet, showed resilience and created enough chances in the second half to win the game.
They took the lead against the run of play thanks to a superb Bruno Fernandes free-kick just before half time, with Rice equalising after the break.
“The goal helped us before half-time to get a bit more belief and trust ourselves and second half with the chances we had we should have been 2-0 up,” midfielder Eriksen told The National.
“We created chances and we got in good positions. Compared to the usual game plan today was a bit more sit back and wait and play on the counter.
“In the second half we had a bit more of the ball, held the ball a bit longer than we did in the first half. It’s something we have to adapt to be a bit better.”
The game took place against a backdrop of protests outside Old Trafford, with fans unhappy with the Glazer family who have been in charge of the club for almost 20 years.
The draw all but confirmed that Arsenal won’t be winning the Premier League, while United, who have been hit hard by injuries, are down in 14th after a dreadful season.
“On the pitch we are doing our best to win the game and whatever goes on outside is obviously not beneficial, but we’re doing our best to get the game over the line and win,” added Eriksen.
Asked if it was hard for him to look at the league table, he replied: “It’s not fun. We want to be higher. We’re at United, so we have to be higher.
“But in the end the ball is still rolling on the pitch, so we must focus on the football and look at the table when, hopefully at the end of the season, we end up higher and we’ll forget about this. But at the moment, we must fight for it.”
United’s next game is their biggest one of the season, at home to Real Sociedad in the Europa League last 16. The first leg was drawn 1-1 in San Sebastian last Thursday.
The competition represents United’s only chance of winning a trophy. And, given how far they are from the European places in the Premier League, their only chance of playing European football next season.
“It’s massive, we know the pressure, we know the situation we’re in, in the league,” said Eriksen of the game.
“To get into Europe we must win a lot of games in the league or go through the Europa League, so we know there’s a lot of pressure on that game, but it also comes with being at this club. You play for trophies so we have to play well to go through.”
Asked if it’s hard to imagine a United team not in Europe, the Dane replied: “It’s where they belong, but we don’t belong being in the lower half of the Premier League either so it’s a bit in between.
“We try to do our best to get up [the league], we’re not in a position we want to be in. It could save a little bit with the Champions League and the Europa feeling, but in terms of the Prem we still need to get a lot of points to go higher.”
United fans have backed new coach Amorim, and Eriksen also offered his support.
“He’s come in with new ideas, very honest guy, straightforward,” said Eriksen of his new manager.
“He has his head and we’re just trying to adapt to them and get into the system and the habits in his style of play. He’s a good manager.”
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
About Karol Nawrocki
• Supports military aid for Ukraine, unlike other eurosceptic leaders, but he will oppose its membership in western alliances.
• A nationalist, his campaign slogan was Poland First. "Let's help others, but let's take care of our own citizens first," he said on social media in April.
• Cultivates tough-guy image, posting videos of himself at shooting ranges and in boxing rings.
• Met Donald Trump at the White House and received his backing.
Haircare resolutions 2021
From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.
1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'
You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.
2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'
Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.
3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’
Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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The bio
Favourite book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite travel destination: Maldives and south of France
Favourite pastime: Family and friends, meditation, discovering new cuisines
Favourite Movie: Joker (2019). I didn’t like it while I was watching it but then afterwards I loved it. I loved the psychology behind it.
Favourite Author: My father for sure
Favourite Artist: Damien Hurst
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Tuesday (UAE kick-off times)
Leicester City v Brighton (9pm)
Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United (11.15pm)
Wednesday
Manchester United v Sheffield United (9pm)
Newcastle United v Aston Villa (9pm)
Norwich City v Everton (9pm)
Wolves v Bournemouth (9pm)
Liverpool v Crystal Palace (11.15pm)
Thursday
Burnley v Watford (9pm)
Southampton v Arsenal (9pm)
Chelsea v Manchester City (11.15pm)
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
RESULTS - ELITE MEN
1. Henri Schoeman (RSA) 57:03
2. Mario Mola (ESP) 57:09
3. Vincent Luis (FRA) 57:25
4. Leo Bergere (FRA)57:34
5. Jacob Birtwhistle (AUS) 57:40
6. Joao Silva (POR) 57:45
7. Jonathan Brownlee (GBR) 57:56
8. Adrien Briffod (SUI) 57:57
9. Gustav Iden (NOR) 57:58
10. Richard Murray (RSA) 57:59
BRIEF SCORES:
Toss: Nepal, chose to field
UAE 153-6: Shaiman (59), Usman (30); Regmi 2-23
Nepal 132-7: Jora 53 not out; Zahoor 2-17
Result: UAE won by 21 runs
Series: UAE lead 1-0
Start-up hopes to end Japan's love affair with cash
Across most of Asia, people pay for taxi rides, restaurant meals and merchandise with smartphone-readable barcodes — except in Japan, where cash still rules. Now, as the country’s biggest web companies race to dominate the payments market, one Tokyo-based startup says it has a fighting chance to win with its QR app.
Origami had a head start when it introduced a QR-code payment service in late 2015 and has since signed up fast-food chain KFC, Tokyo’s largest cab company Nihon Kotsu and convenience store operator Lawson. The company raised $66 million in September to expand nationwide and plans to more than double its staff of about 100 employees, says founder Yoshiki Yasui.
Origami is betting that stores, which until now relied on direct mail and email newsletters, will pay for the ability to reach customers on their smartphones. For example, a hair salon using Origami’s payment app would be able to send a message to past customers with a coupon for their next haircut.
Quick Response codes, the dotted squares that can be read by smartphone cameras, were invented in the 1990s by a unit of Toyota Motor to track automotive parts. But when the Japanese pioneered digital payments almost two decades ago with contactless cards for train fares, they chose the so-called near-field communications technology. The high cost of rolling out NFC payments, convenient ATMs and a culture where lost wallets are often returned have all been cited as reasons why cash remains king in the archipelago. In China, however, QR codes dominate.
Cashless payments, which includes credit cards, accounted for just 20 per cent of total consumer spending in Japan during 2016, compared with 60 per cent in China and 89 per cent in South Korea, according to a report by the Bank of Japan.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
