Anthony Elanga was handed a first Premier League start of the season by Ralf Rangnick for Manchester United’s trip to face Aston Villa at Villa Park.
Jadon Sancho was left on the bench as Rangnick put his faith in Elanga after some impressive recent cameo appearances and he didn’t disappoint.
Only Mason Greenwood took more than his four shots and nobody completed more dribbles than his two.
Elanga drove United forward from the left of Rangnick’s 4-2-3-1, showing a confidence and drive which has been absent from many recent attacking performances from more established stars.
Nobody on the away side was fouled more, which underlines Villa’s struggles to keep him quiet before he was replaced by Sancho with the score at 2-1.
He also got involved defensively with a pass and interception and showed no signs of nerves having been upgraded from impact sub to starter.
It was a disappointing result as United took a draw from a game they were in control of going into the final 15 minutes, but there was plenty for Elanga to take from it individually.
Reaction
Unsurprisingly, plenty of United fans on Twitter were excited to see Elanga in the starting lineup and were keen to praise him for his display.
It was a surprise that Elanga was the man taken off when the tide started to turn, although it could not be said that was the reason why two points were dropped.
He looked to have done enough to keep his place against Brentford in midweek, but Cristiano Ronaldo and Rashford will be back then and that will give Rangnick a decision to make.
In the meantime, here is how his performance at Villa Park went down online…
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