Rasmus Hojlund and Marcus Rashford messages speak volumes amid Man Utd misery

Rasmus Hojlund has backed fellow Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford after both players enjoyed triumphant weekends away from their parent club. A day before the United lost the Manchester Derby, Hojlund netted 14 minutes into his Napoli debut after beating long-serving former United goalkeeper David de Gea.

Then, hours after United suffered a 3-0 defeat to Manchester City, Rashford featured for Barcelona in their 6-0 thrashing of Valencia, setting up the second goal. That assist marked his first for the club in a competitive fixture after he became the first member of the United 'bomb squad' to leave earlier in the summer.

It was also his first for any team since mid-April, for Aston Villa against PSG in last season's Champions League, reports the Manchester Evening News. "What a night! !" Rashford captioned an Instagram post after the match. "Visca Barça," he added, a Catalan phrase that means 'Long live Barcelona'.

Hojlund, whose side beat Fiorentina 3-1, was amongst several United players - past and present - who liked the social media post. United captain Bruno Fernandes and Tyrell Malacia were among the current squad to do so.

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Other out-on-loan players Ethan Wheatley and Joe Hugill, who are due to spend this season with Northampton Town and Barnet respectively, also did so. Also showing support were Aaron Wan-Bissaka, De Gea, Donny van de Beek, Jesse Lingard and Shola Shoretire.

Several of those also interacted with a post from Hojlund after his debut. "First day at the new job didn't disappoint," the caption reads. "Love it mate," chimed in Harry Maguire, while Antony responded with a flurry of applause emojis.

The post was also liked by a host of other football stars including Ayden Heaven, Bryan Mbeumo, Diogo Dalot, Fernandes, Godwill Kukonki, Hugill, Joshua Zirkzee, Kobbie Mainoo, Leny Yoro, Mason Mount, Matheus Cunha, Matthijs de Ligt, Patrick Dorgu, Rashford, Rhys Bennett and Wheatley.

Ex-players Christian Eriksen, Mason Greenwood, Sofyan Amrabat, Wan-Bissaka and Willy Kambwala also gave the post a thumbs up. Hojlund is set to return to Manchester this week as City prepare to host Napoli in their first Champions League match on Thursday.

With United enduring their worst start to a season since 1992/93, and with pressure ramping up on Ruben Amorim, Hojlund may well be happy that - like Rashford - he left United in the summer.

Napoli manager Antonio Conte was clearly delighted with Hojlund's impact on debut - and poked fun at United in his post-match press conference. "Hojlund is only 22. We signed him from Manchester United after seeing the luck [Scott] McTominay brought us," Conte joked.

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