Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag has praised Alejandro Garnacho for a truly ‘fantastic’ performance against Aston Villa on Tuesday night.
United started the Ineos era with a dramatic victory, coming from 2-0 down to beat Aston Villa 3-2.
Boos were ringing around Old Trafford as the half-time whistle was blown with Villa scoring two soft goals from set pieces.
A comeback seemed unlikely but Alejandro Garnacho bagged a brace, teeing up a grandstand finale.
If United fans could have picked one hero to win the game, it probably would have been Rasmus Hojlund.
The Dane had been waiting for his first Premier League goal but it finally came on Tuesday, volleying home to send Old Trafford wild.
Erik ten Hag hails Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho
United’s attacking players have taken a lot of criticism this season and, in truth, most of it has been justified.
They really turned up in the second half against Villa though with Hojlund scoring the winner and Marcus Rashford turning in one of his best performances of the season.
The man who really kickstarted the comeback was Garnacho, who had a goal ruled out for offside early into the second half.
Garnacho then bagged a brace, first converting Rashford’s cross before firing a deflected strike beyond Emiliano Martinez.
Boss Erik ten Hag paid tribute to Garnacho after the final whistle, telling BBC Sport that he felt the Argentinian was ‘fantastic’.
Ten Hag admitted that Garnacho has been really down after missing chances against West Ham United on Saturday but has now received the rewards for his hard work.
“He played a fantastic game. He was so disappointed after West Ham that he didn’t score his one-on-ones. Now he’s scored twice and it’s a reward for all the effort and work he puts in,” said Ten Hag.
Garnacho can be the answer, he just needs consistency
Garnacho was a real menace to the Villa back line in the second half, using his pace to cause absolute mayhem.
This is what we know the 19-year-old is capable of and seeing him spark a comeback is so exciting as we can see his potential right there in front of us.
Garnacho clearly needs to work on his end product as he has missed some golden chances, particularly one-on-ones, in recent weeks.
That consistency will hopefully come with time and having caused major problems down the right flank, we may have been given a glimpse of United’s future right winger.
Garnacho still has a long way to go but Tuesday night was a massive performance and we can only hope to see him replicate it moving forward.
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