Anthony Elanga scored his most recent goal for Manchester United one year ago today
With United 1-0 down to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash, the Swede raced clear and fired beyond Jan Oblak to clinch a draw.
At that stage, Elanga had burst into the United side under Ralf Rangnick, and was proving to be one of the few positives from the season.
He was offering pace and vibrancy, but 12 months on, he is yet to score under Erik ten Hag, despite the improvement he has coaxed from many other United players.
Anthony Elanga scored his last Manchester United goal one year ago
So what has happened? It seems Rangnick overplayed Elanga, over relying on his pace and dynamism as last season limped to a close.
That seems to have dimmed Elanga’s spark, and when he comes on now, it seems like it is more to offer diligence and energy to see out a game.
Alejandro Garnacho is now United’s young game changer off the bench and the Argentine is now above Elanga in the pecking order.
Even Facundo Pellistri has looked brighter than Elanga when handed cameos off the bench, and Elanga’s confidence is nowhere near the level it was a year ago.
It seems that making the jump from promising youngster scoring at youth level to being a reliable option for the United first team has been understandably tricky for Elanga.
As soon as opponents know more about you, you lose the element of surprise and Elanga has not been able to get over that hurdle – yet.
But Ten Hag has contributed to an uplift in the performances of so many players that if Elanga follows his guidance, he should get chances to show what he can do.
Breaking that goal drought would likely lead to a confidence boost, and help Elanga establish himself as someone who can be relied upon for goals again.
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