Manchester United fell short against Copenhagen, 4-3. These are the top five lessons we took away from the game.

Rasmus Hojlund loves the Champions League.

With zero goals thus far in the Premier League, Rasmus Hojlund is having difficulty scoring. It is a whole other story in the Champions League.

Following a low cross from Scott McTominay, the Dane opened the scoring in the third minute of his homecoming to his own country.

This was Hojlund’s first goal in almost a month, and it was the ideal start for Manchester United.

Before the half-hour mark, he increased his total after Alejandro Garnacho’s shot set up a counterattack. These early goals were just what the doctor ordered to calm a rowdy home crowd.

Hojlund is now Manchester United’s leading scorer of the season with an amazing five goals in four Champions League games.

He did not deserve to be on the losing side and could have scored three goals before the half.

Another player for Manchester United is injured.

The selection of Jonny Evans as a starter was an odd choice, but not entirely shocking considering the previous two weeks have shown this to be the norm.

Evans was injured after just 14 minutes of play. Raphael Varane, a four-time Champions League winner, was selected to replace Evans instead of Victor Lindelof.

Although the full degree of Evans’ injury is unknown, Manchester United currently has just three center backs available after starting the season with five—six if you include Luke Shaw—in the starting lineup.

The game was changed by Rashford’s red card.

Everything was going great for Manchester United that evening, right up until Marcus Rashford received a red card for a reckless challenge. Although there was no malice on his part, the replay appeared to be distressing. Naturally, VAR was the one making the choice.

Rashford will now serve an automatic one-game suspension and miss the following away match against Galatasaray.

It was unfortunate since Rashford, who rarely plays well in this position, had been performing admirably on Manchester United’s right wing. This season, he has received as many red cards as goals.

The moment the game changed was at the send-off. Because United was in complete control, Copenhagen had a lifeline when they grabbed one back just before halftime. After that, you had to worry that the game would change drastically as the fans became more enthusiastic.

Before the half, United was awarded a penalty for handball, and their 2-0 lead abruptly became 2-2. This time, Andre Onana did not make a save.

This provided additional evidence that red cards affect Champions League games. We are still not over Nani’s Real Madrid match from 2013.

Manchester United fold under pressure.

Copenhagen had all the momentum at that point. You feared for United, down to 10 men and with a terrible away record.

After substituting Sofyan Amrabat for Christian Eriksen at halftime, the squad regained control of the game and controlled possession. Then, an odd thing happened: a VAR judgment was made in our favor.

The opposing end’s penalty was nullified by the soft handball penalty that was given. Manchester United was ahead 3-2 when captain Bruno Fernandes stepped up and sent the ball into the top corner.

However, just like against Galatasaray at home, Manchester United lost because they were unable to hold onto the advantage.

Simple defensive mistakes caused United to lose 4-3 after blowing a lead with two late goals conceded. The team had an opportunity to demonstrate their strength under duress, but they gave up.

Manchester United is the group’s bottom team.

Bayern Munich defeated Galatasaray in Germany and qualified on their own, as was to be expected. Although there is some positive news here, the group does not appear attractive.

Manchester United is presently one point behind Copenhagen and Galatasaray in second and third place in the group, although they are still at the bottom.

Everything is on the line for United, as they need to win both of their remaining games to guarantee their spot in the knockout stage.

We need to defeat Bayern, who might field a weaker team or play with less passion, and Old Trafford will be electrified. First, we need to defeat Galatasaray.

In the unlikely event that Copenhagen defeats Galatasaray at home and Bayern away, this might not even be sufficient.