Anthony Elanga proved he has a role to play at Manchester United

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There were certainly eyebrows raised when Anthony Elanga was in Manchester United’s starting line-up to face Liverpool.

Piers Morgan claimed starting Elanga ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo was one of ‘dumbest decisions in football history’.

This overreaction was an embarrassingly bad call, with Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag showing he knows exactly what he was doing.

Elanga, 20, repaid Ten Hag’s faith with an electric first half performance which helped Manchester United set the tone against Liverpool, with the Red Devils winning 2-1.

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Elanga proved he has a role to play

Elanga caused problems for Trent Alexander-Arnold and linked well with Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho.

His movement put Liverpool’s defence on the backfoot, and when he combined on the left with Tyrell Malacia, the pair’s pace caused real issues.

The youngster has been on the bench for United’s opening two games, so it was a big call to bring him in.

With United looking for new attacking signings, and Alejandro Garnacho also pushing for game time, Elanga has come under a little pressure.

Even with new additions coming in, Elanga proved he has a role to play. His energy gave United a real life, showing the attitude which impressed Ralf Rangnick, and Erik ten Hag has seemingly taken to as well.

It was unfortunate to see Elanga miss the early chance, beating Alisson, only to see his shot rebound off the post.

He didn’t let this deter him. Elanga’s run down the left flank created Manchester United’s opener, with a smart, picked out pass to Jadon Sancho inside the box.

His substitution at half-time was no slight on his performance. In a similar way to how Dan James used to contribute in a valuable way in big games under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Elanga played a crucial role against Liverpool.

The 20-year-old needed this. He is too young to be written off, and has good attributes to his game. This performance will give him much-needed belief, to kick on.