PLZEŇ, Czech Republic – For much of the game against Viktoria Plzeň, you could understand why Manchester United are open to offers for most of their players.

However, Rasmus Højlund appears to be one who could have a future at Old Trafford under new head coach Ruben Amorim. The Danish striker came on as a substitute midway through the second half at the Doosan Arena and a UEFA Europa League clash that looked like it would end in an embarrassing defeat was narrowly won.

Højlund scored two goals, including the winner in the 88th minute, helping United to a narrow 2-1 win, which earned them promotion to the top eight of the table. In that regard, the job was done for Amorim’s team, but the Portuguese coach will have seen a few things to worry him ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester City.

André Onana’s form is of particular concern as his error gave Viktoria Plzeň the lead just days after the goalkeeper was at fault for two goals in Nottingham’s Forest’s 3-2 win at Old Trafford on Saturday.

Onana seemed relieved when Højlund scored late and ran the length of the field to join in the celebrations. There was also relief for his manager after a largely frustrating night.

“It wasn’t a great game, but we managed to do those good things and I think we deserved the win,” Amorim said afterwards. “You want to see better things, but then you realize we didn’t have that much time to work.”

“I think we definitely lacked pace in the first half. I’m always frustrated. I think I’ll be doing this for a while.”

Højlund ensured a freezing evening in the Czech Republic ended on a high note as United claimed their first away win in Europe since March 2023, but the first half was one of Amorim’s worst so far. United did not benefit from a shaky pitch, although even that was no excuse for a few poor passes in a turbulent first hour.

Amorim said on his first day in charge that his team gave the ball away too often. It’s been a month and he’s still trying to fix the problem. The sloppiness was summed up by Joshua Zirkzee.

The Dutch international started at the center of United’s three-man attack and lost the ball eleven times in the first 30 minutes. By half time there were 16. He was finally substituted in the 61st minute, but the number of lost balls had already been increased 19 increased.

Zirkzee wasn’t the only one who made unnecessary mistakes.

Marcus Rashford was already booked when he decided to challenge Sampson Dweh at the start of the second half. There was minimal contact, but it was still a reckless tackle.

Viktoria Plzeň’s coaching staff jumped off the bench and demanded a red card. Marian Barbu, the Romanian referee, showed enough restraint to buy Amorim some time and Rashford was immediately substituted. It mirrored a situation in Amorim’s first game at Ipswich Town when he admitted replacing Rashford before being sent off.

Individual mistakes are hindering United’s progress under their new manager. That was true against Forest and the same thing happened here.

Viktoria Plzeň struggled to create anything when Lisandro Martínez played a harmless pass back to Onana. The Cameroon goalkeeper seemed to see that Matthijs de Ligt was under pressure but decided to pass the ball to him anyway. Pavel Sulc slid in and crossed for Matěj Vydra – formerly of Watford, Derby County and Burnley – to score with the simplest of finishes.

Højlund equalized just six minutes after coming on after a good run from Amad. United then provided the one moment of real quality in the entire 90 minutes when Bruno Fernandes drilled a free-kick into the feet of Højlund and the 21-year-old Alexandr Sojka turned and fired a low finish over Martin Jedlička into the Viktoria Plzeň goal.

Højlund now has five goals in six Europa League games and he enters the final two rounds of the competition as the competition’s top scorer. He was so desperate for a third goal that he had a heated argument with Amad after the final whistle because the winger didn’t pass him the ball during a late break.

Højlund’s performance and United’s fight to come back from behind are at least two positives that Amorim can take away from the Etihad this weekend.

“Just as we give the opponent a goal, it was important not to give up,” said Amorim. “This is a great message. We have to feel something. At this moment we have to feel something, and if we have to fight against each other, for me that is a very, very good sign. We have to feel something, and that’s important.” We want to see more than any of us. That’s why they fight at the end of the game. We really want to improve quickly.