After the exhilaration of the Lyon comeback, Manchester United fans were brought abruptly down to earth by yet another lacklustre defeat in the Premier League.

While last Sunday's loss to Newcastle could be partially excused due to several changes and the quality of the opposition, the defeat to Wolverhampton Wanderers was inexcusable. Yes, changes were made, but all the goodwill created on Thursday night disintegrated with another defeat to a team that has been fighting relegation this season.

The highest the Reds can now finish is eighth, but that is only if they manage to win all their remaining matches and all those above them lose theirs, which is impossible. After the match, a clearly frustrated Ruben Amorim showed exactly what the summer transfer window plan is to avoid this happening again.

He admitted that there will be ups and downs on the return to the top, but speaking to Radio 5 Live, he added: "If you don't score goals, you don't win games. We need to score goals.

"There was a time [where] we didn't score, but we didn't create. We have a lot of chances to score, but we didn't score - that's the biggest problem for our team."

Both United and Wolves had just two shots on target at Old Trafford but while the visitors accomplished just four shots in total, the Reds had 12. Such a poor conversion rate tells its own story and sadly for Rasmus Hojlund, there is nowhere to hide.

Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund
Manchester United striker Rasmus Hojlund

The Dane came under fire when he worked an opportunity for himself before stuttering, getting caught in two minds and eventually losing possession. It was perhaps a damning indictment of the lack of confidence United's centre-forward has.

When Joshua Zirkzee was fit, the blame could be carried by both, but even then, the Dutchman has improved as the season has worn on - sadly for Hojlund, that has not been the case. It is no secret that United are looking to add at least one striker to their squad this summer to try and improve their attack, but Amorim is now as good as saying that this is the plan.

And with that admission made, it is now difficult to see where Hojlund's future lies. Will Amorim decide that as a second or third choice striker, the former Atalanta man could be of benefit to the team?

Or will he see him as being a player that needs moving on to bring fresh blood into the squad? Only time will tell.

Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester United coverage and analysis.

Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest United news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe.

You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories.

And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Manchester is Red podcast, featuring The Samuel Luckhurst Show and The Midweek Debate. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.