Kevin De Bruyne has appeared to question Manchester United’s decision to allow Rasmus Hojlund to leave this summer. Kevin De Bruyne has questioned Manchester United’s decision to allow Rasmus Hojlund to leave. Hojlund scored twice for his new club Napoli, with De Bruyne assisting both goals to help them to a 2-1 win over Sporting Lisbon in the Champions League. The Dane striker left Manchester United on an initial loan deal, which could become permanent next year if certain terms are met. He struggled to live up to his lofty price tag in England, forcing United to bring in Benjamin Sesko from RB Leipzig.De Bruyne questions Manchester United’s decision Hojlund has started to regain his confidence in front of goal and has so far scored three goals in five appearances under Antonio Conte. Speaking after the game, De Bruyne lavished praise on the former Atalanta striker.
“Rasmus has a lot of quality, and as a striker, when you go forward, you need that smell of goals,” said the Belgian. Hojlund similarly praised De Bruyne as he waxed lyrical on how easy it was to play with the Manchester City legend. “Playing with an exceptional talent like Kevin De Bruyne is special. I just need to get into space and he’ll get me the ball,” he told UEFA.com. Napoli players celebrate Rasmus Hojlund’s goal against Sporting Lisbon. “It was the night you dream of, playing in the Champions League. I don’t like to talk about my performance, but about the team.” After the game, Hojlund pointed out the irony that the two former rivals in Manchester were now linking up to good effect in Italy. “Højlund scores twice in the Champions League after two assists from Kevin De Bruyne” was not on my 2025 bingo card,” he said on Instagram. The win over Sporting Lisbon was their first this season after losing to De Bruyne’s former team, Manchester City, the last time. They are now in 19th place and play PSV Eindhoven next.
Napoli standings in Serie A In the Serie A, the defending champions suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday when they lost 2-1 to AC Milan. Christian Pulisic scored one and assisted another, rendering De Bruyne’s second-half penalty a mere consolation. They will be looking to bounce back this weekend when they play Genoa before the international break. Why Bruno Fernandes missed penalty vs Brentford Hojlund’s replacement at United, Sesko, has struggled to hit the ground running under Ruben Amorim, but he recently got his first goal in England in the 3-1 defeat to Brentford. Thiago scored twice at the G-Tech stadium, with Mathias Jensen coming from the bench to add the third in stoppage time. United had a chance to equalise, but Bruno Fernandes had his penalty saved by Caoimhin Kelleher.
By Martin Moses
