February saw a whole host of action across the Premier League with 5 rounds of fixtures along with the FA Cup action as English football felt a full return from the short winter break in January to ramp up the games heading into the final third of the season.

This months NextGoalWinner player of the month winner goes to a player who has, since arriving in the Premier League, had some ups and downs with an injury keeping him out of action on arrival, failing to find the net in the league for several games while his European rate was showing his quality.

Rasmus Hojlund has been on a scoring streak throughout February as he went on a 6 game scoring steak to end January and going into February, with 7 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 games. The month was to end on a sour note however as Hojlund’s injury prevented him from taking part in the final 2 games of the month when Manchester United fell to defeat against Fulham and edged past Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup late in the game. With a scoring streak continuing throughout the month of February, Hojlund has picked up the NextGoalWinner award for helping his side to a successful month in the league and cup action.

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Match By Match

February 1st: Wolverhampton Wanderers 3-4 Manchester United – Starting the month off in chaotic fashion, the away team looked comfortable as they cruised to a 2-0 lead with Rashford and Hojlund opening the scoring in the first 22 minutes. Wolves fought back in the closing stages to get the scored level at 3-3 until youngster Kobbie Mainoo who himself was a strong contender for POTM managed to weave his way through the opposition to make it 4-3 and confirm what had looked to be a straight forward victory, but in more dramatic fashion than seemed at half-time. For Rasmus Hojlund, who scored the second of 4 on the night, he had a decent outing as he also provided the opener for Rashford. Along with his 2 goal contributions, he managed 100% shot, pass and long ball accuracy which showed his quality on the night and brought forward his impressive end to January with a strong start to February’s action.

February 4th: Manchester United 3-0 West Ham United – After falling to defeat against West Ham around the festive period, the home meeting was a more comfortable outing for Manchester United, with a comfortable 3-0 win for Ten Hag’s side, which demonstrated and highlighted the positive future at the club. Hojlund, Garnacho and Mainoo were standouts in this win as the first 2 were goal scorers to earn the victory, which the latter was involved in a decent performance which demonstrated his major potential. Despite losing Martinez due to injury, the rest was positive as Hojlund opened the scoring on the 23rd minute, before Garnacho sealed the points with the remaining 2 goals. Due the the young Argentine earning a brace, Hojlund wasn’t in contention for player of the match, however his goal, 100% long ball accuracy and 7 duels won added to another impressive performance for the 21 year old.

February 11th: Aston Villa 1-2 Manchester United – With this previous meeting also proving to be a chaotic festive clash, the return meeting also came with some drama as McTominay was again involved in a late winner to give the visitors all 3 points. With Villa dominating for large periods, it had been thanks to another early start from United and Hojlund which got the away team in front, before Villa piled on the pressure to earn their equaliser. With the game heading for a 1-1 draw which Villa would have felt hard done by, it was made worse when McTominay added the winner in the 86th minute to provide yet another smash-and-grab performance from Ten Hag’s side. Hojlund’s scoring run continued as he maintained 100% shot accuracy and made it another successful and strong performance from the young striker to help this chaotic side to victory.

February 18th: Luton Town 1-2 Manchester United – Rounding out his successful month early, Hojlund produced his first brace of the month as his goals avoided any risk of a scare against Luton Town at Kenilworth Road. Hojlund made it 7 goals and 2 assists in his last 6 outings as he scored 2 quick-fire goals inside the opening 7 minutes. Having taken just seconds to get his side ahead, he added the second shortly after which allowed United to have what seemed to be a comfortable afternoon, however Luton fought back quickly in the 14th minute to make it 2-1 and rock Manchester United which made them look more shaky. With Hojlund seeking out his hat-trick, his side were forced to hold on for the majority of the game and chances came few and far between. Hojlund couldn’t add a third with only 1 more shot coming in the game. His individual efforts were well respected as he achieved an 9.0/10 FotMob rating (his highest of the month), with 100% shot accuracy, 100% long ball accuracy, 100% tackles won and 7 duels won. It was the final outing for Hojlund in the month as he wasn’t able to feature again with injury keeping him out of the remaining games, however his efforts in the first 4 made him deserving of the award.