NAPLES: Rasmus Hojlund celebrated a brilliant night in the European Champions League when he scored two goals to help Napoli beat Sporting Lisbon 2-1 at the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, early this morning.
The Danish striker, who joined Manchester United before being loaned to Napoli, celebrated the victory by showing off the Champions League badge on his shirt.
The action reminded United fans that several of their former stars are now increasingly prominent on the European stage, while Ruben Amorim’s squad failed to qualify for this season’s tournament.
Hojlund, who was sidelined by Amorim after Benjamin Sesko came on, opened the scoring in the 36th minute through Kevin De Bruyne’s pass.
Sporting equalised from the penalty spot, but De Bruyne’s cross was again key as Hojlund headed home the winning goal.
De Bruyne praised Hojlund’s sharpness by comparing him to former Manchester City teammate Erling Haaland.
“I think Rasmus is maturing and his style is very similar to Haaland. They both like to attack space and are dangerous in front of goal,” said De Bruyne.
Hojlund has now scored three goals in five appearances for Antonio Conte’s side, with his loan including an obligatory buy-out clause of £38 million.
Besides Hojlund, several other former United players also stole the spotlight.
Anthony Elanga, who left Old Trafford for Nottingham Forest before moving to Newcastle, emerged as man of the match after helping the Magpies to a 4-0 win over Union Saint-Gilloise.
Marcus Rashford continues to shine with Barcelona with six goals in six matches.
The England international provided the assist for Ferran Torres’ goal against Paris Saint-Germain, although the defending champions came from behind to win 2-1.
In Germany, Marcel Sabitzer, a former United loanee, was also named man of the match as Borussia Dortmund beat Athletic Bilbao 4-1.
Meanwhile, Alejandro Garnacho helped Chelsea to a narrow 1-0 victory over Benfica at Stamford Bridge when he was involved in the only goal of the match.