Manchester United pair Cristiano Ronaldo and David de Gea have both received high praise from talented youngster Anthony Elanga.
It was the Swedish under-21 international who grabbed the headlines after scoring the opener in the Reds’ 3-1 win against Brentford last night.
But the humble 19-year-old spoke in glowing terms about the world class duo after the clash at the Brentford Community Stadium.
After a lacklustre first half, Ralf Rangnick’s Red Devils may have gone into the half-time interval trailing by a couple of goals if it wasn’t for de Gea’s ability to thwart the opposition with his feet.
The Spanish stopper was at his imperious best once again and his performance was rightly lauded by Elanga.
Speaking to BBC Sport, the teenager said: “Oh David (de Gea), is a life saver. For me he is one of the best goalkeepers and I just want him to keep going.”
At the age of 31, the Spanish international could potentially have another 10 years at the highest level if he follows in the footsteps of Gianluigi Buffon.
There is no denying that United’s number one is back to his best and he would have been frustrated that he didn’t claim just his fifth Premier League clean sheet of the season last night.
Elanga is also relishing and grasping the opportunity to play with one of the greatest players of all-time in Cristiano Ronaldo.
United’s number 36 started a Premier League for the first time in his career alongside the great Portuguese against Thomas Frank’s side.
Eager to soak up as much information and learn from the five-time Ballon d’Or winner, Elanga is soaking up every moment whilst being around United’s number seven.
On Ronaldo, Elanga said: “To play with a great player like Ronaldo is an honour, you just have to enjoy it, in every game and in training.”
The youngster had the awareness to exploit the space in behind Brentford’s defence when Ronaldo came deep and drew the attention of the Bees’ centre-backs.
The more Elanga and Ronaldo train together the more their understanding will develop.
Anthony Elanga will no doubt be targeting a first Premier League start at Old Trafford on Saturday, when we welcome West Ham United.
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