Manchester United fans are urging Erik ten Hag to start Hannibal Mejbri against Crystal Palace in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday after the youngster’s “very bright” performance against Burnley.
Hannibal received a rare Premier League start under Ten Hag on Saturday after he scored from a stunning strike in United’s 3-1 defeat to Brighton at Old Trafford.
The 20-year-old United midfielder impressed with his performance at Turf Moor and earned rave reviews from fans and pundits after the Red Devils sealed a 1-0 win.
Hannibal could be in contention for a second consecutive start for United, as Ten Hag’s men kick off their Carabao Cup defence at Old Trafford on Tuesday evening.
READ MORE: Hannibal Mejbri sends message to Manchester United fans after 1-0 win
United fans want to see more Hannibal
All eyes will be on Ten Hag to confirm a place in his starting XI for Hannibal, who has been a breath of fresh air amid a struggling start to the season for United.
United fans on social media believe that the Tunisia international’s “brilliant performance” against Burnley should earn him back-to-back starts under Ten Hag.
One fan simply said: “Hannibal MUST start on Tuesday!”
Another wrote: “Hannibal MUST start the next [match against Crystal Palace]. Been our best midfielder by a country mile [against Burnley].”
“Hannibal needs to start every single [match for Man United],” a third tweeted.
Someone else commented: “Hannibal [was] very bright tonight. Really liked what I saw. Looks ready for regular senior football. He should keep his place in that United midfield against Crystal Palace in [the] midweek.”
While a fifth Twitter, AKA X, user posted: “Hannibal has had a good game today. He’s played much better than both [Scott] McTominay and [Christian] Eriksen. He’s very good with the press. He should be retained in the next match against Crystal Palace.”
And a sixth fan added: “Hannibal. Energy, courage, tenacity, kept the ball, won the ball, always showed for the ball. Brilliant performance and should earn him a start against Palace!”
Ten Hag happy with Hannibal
Ten Hag has seen some of the pressure ease off his shoulders after United’s slender Premier League victory over Vincent Kompany’s struggling Burnley side.
Hannibal stepped up as a No 10 for the United boss amid his injury plagued squad and rewarded Ten Hag’s faith in him with a stellar performance against the Clarets.
The United starlet was linked with a move away from Old Trafford in the summer, but he remained at the club and is now likely to receive more first-team minutes.
Speaking after the Burnley match, Ten Hag praised Hannibal for his performance and insisted that the youngster was “perfect” in the role he deployed him in.
“Of course, it’s a concern. You have so many injuries, you have a problem in the routine of your game,” he told TNT Sports.
“You bring players in, they are new — like [Sergio] Reguilon, like [Rasmus] Hojlund and you can’t bring them in slowly in the routines of your team.
“They are not used to playing together, like Hannibal, who did a perfect job.”
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