The Danish striker made it seven goals in his last six matches to fire Erik ten Hag's side to a narrow victory against a determined Luton

Rasmus Hojlund could not score in his first 14 Premier League games but is now truly on fire and his double was enough to give Manchester United a scrappy, barely deserved 2-1 win at Luton Town.

The Dane scored for the sixth league game in a row to give United the lead after just 40 seconds, staying alert to pounce on a Luton error and calmly round goalkeeper Thomas Kaminski. In the seventh minute he knocked in an Alejandro Garnacho strike into the net with his chest to put the visitors in full command.

United could not live up to their dream start, though, and Luton captain Carlton Morris halved the deficit while the Red Devils were lucky not to concede again before the break, while Casemiro was fortunate not to be sent off.

Luton continued to pile on the pressure and United failed to take their chances on the break, with Garnacho particularly wasteful. They had to ride out a nervy few minutes, helped by the unstoppable Jonny Evans, and eventually secured a fourth consecutive league victory, taking them within three points of fifth-placed Tottenham and five of Aston Villa in fourth.

After a dire first half of the season, the hunt for Champions League football is truly on. GOAL rates Man United's players from Kenilworth Road…

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Andre Onana (6/10):

Could have done more to put Morris off. His footwork helped slow the game down and ease the pressure.

Diogo Dalot (5/10):

Couldn't cope with Alfie Doughty for large spells and messed up a potential one-on-one with Thomas Kaminski.

Harry Maguire (5/10):

A bit of a wobbly performance. Late to numerous tackles and could have been booked long before he finally saw yellow. Taken off at half-time as a precaution.

Raphael Varane (8/10):

A highly effective last wall of defence, making block after block after Luton breached midfield and the flanks.

Luke Shaw (6/10):

Had some nice passages of play and put out numerous fires, including getting a booking for a meaty challenge. Taken off before half-time amid fears of another injury.

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Kobbie Mainoo (8/10):

A class act. His nimble footwork helped United play their way out of Luton's aggressive press and he also read the game superbly.

Casemiro (5/10):

Very fortunate not to earn another booking for taking out Barkley, with Erik ten Hag sensibly removing him at half-time. Despite his struggles against Barkley, he sparked the move for the first goal with a punt downfield, which Hojlund capitalised on.

Bruno Fernandes (5/10):

Made plenty of sloppy passes but worked hard to contain Luton late on and made a vital block to prevent Gabriel Osho from levelling.

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Alejandro Garnacho (4/10):

Made lots of bad decisions, above all when he bungled his attempt to dribble around Kaminski. At least he got an assist.

Rasmus Hojlund (9/10):

That's seven goals in six matches for the Dane, who is starting to look like the true heir to Ruud van Nistelrooy – United's last proper 'fox in the box'. He showed awareness and composure for his early goal and cheekiness for his second. Also held the ball up superbly.

Marcus Rashford (5/10):

Some promising moments but overall a disappointment. Should have released Garnacho far earlier in the first half but made amends with a dream pass, which the Argentina international squandered.

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Victor Lindelof (6/10):

Did better deputising at left-back than last week at Villa but still picked up a yellow card.

Scott McTominay (6/10):

Brought on at half-time and held the ball up well while working hard in defence.

Jonny Evans (8/10):

Outstanding when he came on, heading and booting away every ball that came his way. Also showed impressive stamina to storm forward in the last minute.

Sofyan Amrabat (N/A):

Brought on in the 86th minute to shore up the defence and see out the win.

Erik ten Hag (6/10):

His substitutes made sense and averted potential red cards but the way his side had to cling on for so much of the second half should concern him.