Roland Cutinho
Erik ten Hag praises Man United youngster Alejandro Garnacho’s brave performance against Rayo Vallecano
Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag managed his first game at Old Trafford in what seemed to be an interesting match against Rayo Vallecano. The clash against the Spanish giants would be United’s last preseason game before heading out to face Brighton and Hove Albion next week.
After the club’s close defeat against Atletico Madrid, the Dutch manager brought in a relatively young starting XI to face the La Liga side. The big guns were rested as the manager would be planning to field a strong starting XI against the Seagulls in a week’s time.
The youngsters didn’t fail to impress the home crowd as the cheering began well before the players made it to the field. Cristiano Ronaldo’s presence was the major talking point, but few of the young stars stole the show with their inspiring performances in the 1-1 draw.
One notable player was Argentine attacker, Alejandro Garnacho who lit up the left-wing position with his dazzling display in the first 45 minutes. The winger was given a rare chance to start from the first whistle, as he started taking control of the flanks from the very first minute.
The wonderkid from Argentina scored and played the entire 90 minutes of Wednesday’s friendly match at Carrington against Wrexham. He was let loose again, and his blistering pace and crazy dribbling prowess created mayhem for Rayo Vallecano’s defense.
Speaking in a post-match conference with MUTV, Erik ten Hag was asked about the impact of the 18-year-old for which he said:
“We want to give the young players who deserve a chance the opportunity to play. He [Garnacho] showed himself during pre-season and that’s why he played. He played pretty well and his performance was really good.”
Surprisingly, United’s number 49 hadn’t played during the preseason under Erik ten Hag, but this time he made the most of his chance. The former Atletico Madrid player demonstrated the characteristics he could bring to the team, and the 52-year-old was undoubtedly impressed.
Garnacho was roped in to train with the senior squad by Ralf Rangnick and he has continued to play with a level of consistency. The Argentine won the Jimmy Murphy academy player of the year accolade last season and would be vying to continue his progress in the best possible way under a new manager.
The youngster is still developing as he is only 18 years old, but his quality is obvious, and he wouldn’t have hurt his prospects of playing for Ten Hag’s first squad this season.
Marcus Rashford plays in the similar position that was occupied by Garnacho against Vallecano and if the player keeps on showcasing his immense potential, who knows he would have more chances to feature in the starting XI.
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The Dutch manager has tried numerous combinations in attack in the recent friendly games. Although it is said that the preseason matches are just experimental games, any good manager would make use of this period to get a deeper insight into their future prospects.
